The interesting thing, to me, is that most, if not all, of the men mentioned were the recipients of Liberal Arts educations. Liberal in the sense that they were mostly/all multi-lingual, were well-read in the classics, learned in rhetoric (not in the sense of the ever-present rhetorical question, but rather in the sense of "the art of speaking or writing effectively" [Merriam-Webster on line]. Somewhere along the line, "liberal" became a dirty word.
Without exception they all had inquiring minds, many were the leading scientists of their day, and as far as I can tell, none of them were closed off to finding new truths from whatever source presented itself. For example, Jefferson lifted the idea of representative government directly from the native people's form of government where representatives from different tribes met in a central location to discuss the issues of the day; this at a time when there was still discussion among the masses as to whether the native peoples were even human.
What I'm most concerned about today is the way that language is evolving at a fairly rapid pace into "newspeak". The Liberal left wants to legislatively control what I can do as far as owning guns, speaking politically incorrectly, adding on to my house or landscaping (I won't ever move someplace with a "homeowner's association"), and myriad other ways that are inherently covered by "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". The Conservative right wants to exercise the same control over whether or not I (were the condition biologically possible) can terminate an unwanted pregnancy, marry another person of the same sex, enjoy the same herbal inhalants enjoyed by our forefathers, freely discuss my complete lack of theo-centric beliefs and myriad other restraints upon the basic three rights (which remember, the founders claim come from a higher authority - I believe they pre-exist authority, and thus, simply are).
And regardless of which patriot or founding father is our greatest influence, the relevant question facing us today is which if the current crop is most likely to put us on a course BACK to the basics of a representative democracy with the minimal amount of undue interference in our lives, and the lives of the next and future generations.
I dispair for our country and fear for its future. I do engage my elected officials on those issues dearest to me (currently it's almost all illegal immigration (against) and gun rights (for)), and I can do little more else than to continue to vote my conscience, and stock up on ammo.
All the best,
Rob