President's Welcome

This page is currently being revised. The current President is John Tyler.

Welcome to one and all who share The Jefferson Center commitment to reason, curiosity, civility and fair play. We strive to support these goals through our regular meetings, social events and public lectures, with the hope of improving ourselves, our country and our planet. We hope you will join us!

"For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." Thomas Jefferson

Here is an revised version of the classic Ten Commandments, updated for a modern, humanistic world [based on www.ebonmusings.org].

• I. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
• II. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
• III. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
• IV. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
• V. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
• VI. Always seek to be learning something new.
• VII. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
• VIII. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
• IX. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
• X. Question everything.
• X. Have fun.

"I am for freedom of religion, & against all maneuvres to bring about a legal ascendancy of one sect over another." - Thomas Jefferson