Jefferson’s private correspondence is not the Constitution and he is not even technically a “founding Father” since he was not at the Constitutional convention. (This is all in his favor, in my opinion, since I think the Constitutional Convention was a coup against a better government; and the Declaration of Independence, which Jefferson actually wrote, is far more interesting as a document. But whether or not it was a good thing, it had nothing to do with Jefferson).

But trying to explain the First Amendment to Rachel Maddow is about as fun as trying to explain the breadth and variety of the Reformed and Presbyterian heritage regarding teaching about baptism to some modern Presbyterians.

The reaction that this excellent essay has provoked is a good example.