Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Down the Memory Hole

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by

James A. Bacon
in , , ,

by James A. Bacon

“How do you squeeze the essence of Wahoowa into 90 seconds?” So asks an article in UVA Today. Here’s what UVA’s video producers came up with:

What’s missing from the video?

There are 50 scenes, including shots of the Rotunda and the Lawn, but no mention of their designer. Apparently, the scribe of the Declaration of Independence, the man who ended the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the third president of the United States, the founder of the University of Virginia no longer appeals to the incoming generation of students.

Or could the problem be that Thomas Jefferson no longer appeals to the current generation of University leaders? Many at UVA believe TJ is more appropriately remembered as a slave-holding rapist.

How times have changed. The following video comes from ten years ago:

Only a decade ago, under the previous president, UVA took pride in its founder, described in this video as “the nation’s greatest thinker.”

The disappearance of Thomas Jefferson down the memory hole is no accident. The Student Guides Club, and even the admissions office, gives tours to tourists and prospective students that barely take notice of Jefferson as the architect of the “academical village,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Rather, he is portrayed as the architect of an institution most notable for its degraded history of slavery, segregation, and racism.

UVA is the only university in the United States established by a founding father, and not just any founding father but a world-renowned champion of liberty, reason, and freedom of religion. To some, such illustrious origins might seem an asset worth touting. But not to the current leadership of UVA. If you share the vision of making UVA “great and good” — with “good” defined as the pursuit of a leftist version of social justice — then the slave-holding Jefferson is an embarrassment.

Step by step, we dismantle our heritage, discredit our founders, and erect their antithesis — a sterile, intellectually monolithic edifice — in its place.

 

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35 responses to “Down the Memory Hole”

  1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    The wisdom of Jefferson's mind and virtue should be a guiding light to every student at UVA.

    "When angry count to ten before one speaks. When very angry count to one hundred." TJ

    1. walter smith Avatar
      walter smith

      I thought it was twenty…

  2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “but a world-renowned champion of liberty, reason, and freedom of religion…”

    …for some…

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      and then they’ll vote to end it.

      Can you imagine the conversation over dinner at Monticello between Thomas Jefferson and Donald Trump?

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        There could be no conversation over the dinner table at Monticello between Thomas Jefferson and Joe Biden because:

        1. Biden would have confused Monticello with Donatello and wandered off looking for a cartoon turtle,

        2. Biden stops functioning at 4pm, well before Jefferson would have sat down to dinner,

        3. Jefferson refused to serve pudding at dinner so Biden would not be interested,

        4. President Doctor Jill wasn't around to lead Joe to the dining room, the dinner table, and his seat.

        1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          Even if this were true, Joe would still know that the freedoms TJ envisioned for some are deserved by all… not so DT…

          1. DJRippert Avatar
            DJRippert

            More gaslighting.

            Which freedoms would Donald Trump deny that Joe Biden supports?

          2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            The right of the people to peacefully assemble for one…

          3. Not Today Avatar
            Not Today

            Full bodily autonomy for women and girls.

        2. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          It’s not the men anymore, DJ. Your choice for president could be between a head of lettuce or a head of cabbage (is?). The vote is to end completely Jefferson’s dream. Your choice.

          1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            4.4 million votes cast in Virginia back in 2020. I think you are overestimating the might of the individual vote. Individually your vote is worth as much as a Bazooka comic right now.

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Then don’t vote. Please. That doubles my vote.

          3. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            The ballot will be cast. My left leaning wife has flipped. I think your down one.
            Cha ching. For 5 grand Uncle Joe and the Don bought your voting record. Here is what they know.
            Name, address, year of
            birth, gender and all
            election districts
            applicable to each
            registered voter. Voting
            history is also available
            to candidates, parties,
            etc. for political
            purposes.

          4. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            That’s what she tells you. Voting booth beats a confessional by two ears.

          5. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            Line #1 on Virginia's Voter Registration application beats all of us.

          6. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            DL #? Seems unfair. What if you don’t drive…

        3. walter smith Avatar
          walter smith

          Ouch!
          That's gonna leave a mark.
          Put some ice on it (another quote from a great Dem leader)

        4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          5. Press secretary KJP wasn't there to cover up the blunders. Took a wrong turn and ended up at the White House of the Confederacy. Great tour by the way.

        5. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          "Fox News anchor Brett Baier pressed White House national security communications adviser John Kirby over President Biden’s abilities, noting that there is “real concern” among people in the country and internationally that he can do the job.

          Kirby joined Baier on Tuesday evening after the president spoke at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

          As questions of Biden’s ability to lead the country persist into its second week, Kirby sought to tame the panic by emphasizing that the president is more than capable.

          “You know, a couple of elections ago, there was the 3 a.m. call. Now, there’s real concern about can he handle something that doesn’t happen between 10 and 4 p.m.?” Baier said, alluding to the reports where Biden said he needed to limit the hours he works to get more sleep.

          Kirby said Biden gets calls in the middle of the night “all the time.”

          The adviser said he works with the president quite a bit and said, “The Commander in Chief that I know is not what people saw … on that debate stage.”

          “He’s sharp. He probes. He asked me questions yesterday about Europe that I couldn’t answer, and I had to go back and do the homework and come back to him on it,” Kirby said of his boss.

          As Biden meets with leaders from the alliance this week, Kirby emphasized the decades-long politician has relationships and context that will help America on an international level, in ways that former President Trump does not.

          “He takes seriously his job as commander in chief and I’m telling you, he’s got the context. He’s got the relationships. That’s the guy I know. That’s the president I’m working for,” Kirby said.

          Baier pressed Kirby, noting that there is “a disconnect” between the Biden seen on the debate stage and in a recent ABC interview, and the man who his team says he is behind closed doors.

          “All I can do is tell you, the guy I’ve known for two and a half years, and I didn’t know the president before I came to work at the White House, never really met him,” Kirby said. “And the man that I see every day, including today, is in command of the facts and the context.”

          https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4763226-brett-baier-john-kirby-joe-bidens-abilities/

          1. James A. Bacon Avatar
            James A. Bacon

            Who're you going to believe — Kirby or your own lying eyes?

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            but, but FOX News!

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            My vote doesn't change, no matter who! 😉

  3. walter smith Avatar
    walter smith

    Overpaid, entitled, hypocritical moral-pygmies.
    Blind guides. Woe to you scribes and Pharisees.
    Has any one of them accomplished anything of enduring worth? Like founding a University? Writing the Declaration of Independence? Advocating for and establishing the practice of religious freedom? And those are just the three he wanted to be remembered for!
    Does any student know Jefferson’s first draft of the Declaration denounced the slave trade, specifically as a wrong done by King George? Does any member of the Ryan administration?
    Meanwhile, does any member of the Ryan administration – any – differ at all with the current Democrat position on abortion? Up until birth and maybe even after birth as Ralph Northam so casually discussed… Does that present any moral quandaries to the Wokisees? They don’t just cast the first stone – they cast a torrent of stones, and often on outright lies, like an accurate and truthful telling of the Jefferson Hemings story, preferring the received, inaccurate but useful to the Narrative version, even though the leading scholar of a commission of scholars on the matter is a retired UVA professor, still living in Charlottesville!
    Even Slick Willie Clinton (his friends tagged him with that moniker for his great facility with lying) had the decency to say abortion should be “safe, legal and rare.”
    As a recovering lawyer, Matthew 23 has always been a favorite chapter. It certainly applies here.

  4. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    "…but no mention of their designer…."

    The video is about the students and community of UVa… you take offense because they did not shove TJ's name in there somehow…?

    "How times have changed. The following video comes from ten years ago:"

    A video that is specifically about the history of UVa… yet still does not mention TJ by name…

    You are trying to gin up offense where ever you can, by any means necessary. An absolute tempest in a teapot. But I guess that groundwork must be laid…

  5. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    To whom are they marketing? Prospective students? For the Class of 2028, UVA received 58,995 applications, which was a 4.5% increase from the previous year. The school made 9,665 offers, resulting in an acceptance rate of 16.3%.

    They get over six applications for every admission.

    Why is UVa wasting money on marketing videos?

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      You think there is no competition for the best and brightest…?

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        At a 6:1 application to acceptance ratio, getting the best and brightest (relative to a state owned university) shouldn't be hard.

        Beyond that – why is it UVa's mission to get "the best and brightest"?

        Their mission should be to provide a top quality, affordable, education to Virginians.

        Much though the administration at UVa might hate the thought … the university is part and parcel of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

        1. StarboardLift Avatar
          StarboardLift

          Beyond that – why is it UVa's mission to get "the best and brightest"?

          Their mission should be to provide a top quality, affordable, education to Virginians.

          @djrippert:disqus is right. The chase for statistical bragging rights pulls any public school away from this mission, to provide access to a quality, affordable education for its state's citizens. @ericthehalfatroll:disqus In any organization, the touchstone for every decision and action should be its mission.

        2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          "Beyond that – why is it UVa's mission to get "the best and brightest"?"

          Who said it was their "mission"…? It certainly can be one of their goals though…

        3. StarboardLift Avatar
          StarboardLift

          Beyond that – why is it UVa's mission to get "the best and brightest"?

          Their mission should be to provide a top quality, affordable, education to Virginians.

          @djrippert:disqus is right. The chase for statistical bragging rights pulls any public school away from this mission, to provide access to a quality, affordable education for its state's citizens. @ericthehalfatroll:disqus In any organization, the touchstone for every decision and action should be its mission.

          1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Actually this is the Mission Statement of UVA:

            "The University of Virginia is a public institution of higher learning guided by a founding vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of talented students from all walks of life. It serves the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world by developing responsible citizen leaders and professionals; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.

            We are defined by:

            Our enduring commitment to a vibrant and unique residential learning environment marked by the free and collegial exchange of ideas;
            Our unwavering support of a collaborative, diverse community bound together by distinctive foundational values of honor, integrity, trust, and respect; and
            Our universal dedication to excellence and affordable access."

            Pursuing the best and brightest does not seem to be counter to either this statement of DJ, in my opinion.

          2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Actually this is the Mission Statement of UVA:

            "The University of Virginia is a public institution of higher learning guided by a founding vision of discovery, innovation, and development of the full potential of talented students from all walks of life. It serves the Commonwealth of Virginia, the nation, and the world by developing responsible citizen leaders and professionals; advancing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge; and providing world-class patient care.

            We are defined by:

            Our enduring commitment to a vibrant and unique residential learning environment marked by the free and collegial exchange of ideas;
            Our unwavering support of a collaborative, diverse community bound together by distinctive foundational values of honor, integrity, trust, and respect; and
            Our universal dedication to excellence and affordable access."

            Pursuing the best and brightest does not seem to be counter to either this statement of DJ, in my opinion.

          3. StarboardLift Avatar
            StarboardLift

            Pursuing the best and brightest absolutely runs counter to affordable access today. There can be affordable excellence, there can be excellence AND affordable access, but not excellence OR affordable access. For example, instead of the boastful 16% admissions rate, reduce out-of-state slots to open more in-state slots. Instead of letting General Assembly and Gov toss the military survivors education football, our state schools could wave those families in at their own expense. Let UVA spend a fraction of its endowment ROI on this.

          4. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I thought UVA was offering free tuition to Virginians who made less than 100K. No?

  6. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    I met a recent UVA grad at a 4th of July party. Works for one of the big bankers on Wall Street now. I quizzed him on the recent history of controversies at the school. He had no idea. Vaguely aware of the Gaza debacle. He told me that he transferred from Univ. of Richmond to UVA for a serious degree in finance. He was busy. He was working a job while taking classes. He interned. He had no time to keep up with the drama of the school. I suspect that is true for many UVA students. They are there for the degree and the doors UVA can open to the six figure salaries.

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