A trip to Charlottesville crosses the path of thomas jefferson

Thomas Jefferson once said, “The earth belongs to the living.” What he meant is that the new generation should not need to carry the baggage of the old one. What makes Jefferson’s view interesting and noteworthy is that I have literally crossed the path he once traveled.

I live in Lynchburg, Virginia, the “City of Seven Hills,” and in 1806, Jefferson established an estate there known as Poplar Forest. He esteemed the town’s geographical features and strategic location as attributes of its importance. Until the Civil War, Lynchburg served as a tobacco hub and transportation center for the region, bringing in vast amounts of wealth, making it one of the most prosperous cities in America at the time.

Charlottesville is an hour’s drive up highway 29, and within its vicinity is Jefferson’s more famous home of Monticello. But in the heart of Charlottesville rests the University of Virginia, which he founded according to a theory of education that prioritized the empirical sciences and independent thought over religious based education. It was an education model Jefferson viewed as essential to the health and prosperity of the new nation.

Recently, I went on the well-traveled road from Lynchburg to Charlottesville for an appointment at University of Virginia to get some new equipment for my wheelchair. Living with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), proper maintenance on a wheelchair makes life less difficult. And UVA Health trains medical students well and provides good service to the public, so I received everything needed.

What could be implied by the statement, “The earth belongs to the living” is that the living have a responsibility to stewardship so that the coming generation is able to thrive. Indeed, Jefferson’s life embodies such a commitment to stewardship. In building Monticello and Poplar Forest as personal estates, in his principal role in laying the basis for America, and in founding UVA as a perceived need for the continuation of the republic, he accomplished much for the stability of a future he would not even be apart of.

While at my appointment in Charlottesville, my mother was taking advantage of the “big city.” Cosco’s and Trader Joe’s are amongst the convenient retailers we don’t have in Lynchburg.  While Lynchburg is a fine city to live in, it didn’t live up to the high hopes Jefferson envisioned for it. The city didn’t succeed in becoming a powerhouse of wealth and prosperity.

Instead, Charlottesville was propped up by the foundation of UVA and proceeds to thrive according to the economic power and influence imparted by higher education. Students often amass hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt attending college while enjoying the lifestyle and perks of the commercial success of the most hyper-modern nation on earth. The engines of the economy remain well-greased with the lifetime of spending by unwitting pupils.

Because of his stewardship, Thomas Jefferson has the reputation of a man who embodied virtue. But going to Charlottesville and examining the culture he helped to create makes me wonder: how could the classical liberalism of Jefferson devolve into the neoliberalism of today?  What would be his response to the commercialization of higher education?  And what went wrong—with everything?

Jefferson wanted a secular education system not grounded by religious dogma, and he got it. Empirical observation of the material world and independent thought took the place of biblical doctrine and catechisms. And sure enough, the new generation does carry the baggage of the old one. What began as a vision for an education devoid of Scriptural authority materialized and became a snare.

On the way home from Charlottesville, I was churning from fatigue while trying to get adjusted to the new seat positioning on the wheelchair. But thankful for all the wonderful things God provides through our flawed nation, I was anxious to arrive back at my local church in Lynchburg for 6:30 Bible study to fellowship with the people God has brought into my life, getting a better grasp of how to live in light of freedom in Christ in a fallen world. In Christ, all things are new.