Here, from Newsbusters, we have Douglas Brinkley (“historian”) and John Donovan (journocrat) on ABC’S “This Week”; two men whose cognitive reasoning skills have never advanced beyond the tween years, generously sharing with us their Independence Day analysis of America’s founding documents…
 
First, let’s get past the straw man they’ve thrown up to attack:

Democrats and Republicans quote from the Founding Fathers, but we shouldn’t act like they were somehow omnipotent. (Brinkley)
 
(the framers) were not gods, they were guys (Donovan)

 
Thanks boys. We know. No one on the conservative side of the aisle has ever claimed or “acted like” any human being is omnipotent. And the founding fathers understood the fallible, darker side of human nature better than liberals ever will.
 
Donovan continued:

…guys (the framers) who didn’t give women the vote* and let slavery** stand for the time being

 
Therefore whatever else those “guys” may have said, written or accomplished must be discredited? Only if you live in the Brinkley-Donovan reality-free zone.

Way back in the 15th century Renaissance artists refined the concept of perspective in their works. They recognized that similar objects (people, trees, buildings) were pretty much the same size when placed side by side. But when an object was put behind another one, it receded – appearing smaller to the human eye. As a means of capturing this visual phenomenon, the artists began to employ linear perspective to great effect. Defining a point(s) for converging lines, they were able to create wonderful illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface and produce a vision much closer to reality.
 

School of Athens (c.1510) ~ Raphael

 
I don’t know how well Brinkley and Donovan grasp the principle of visual perspective, but they sure have a tough time with historical perspective. Like children drawing one-dimensional stick figures, all their subjects are lined up on the same historical plane – and judged accordingly. (I can imagine these two behind the scenes, mocking the fashion trends of the 18th century as well – “Look at those silly wigs – ha-ha!”.)
 
The purpose of studying history is not to look back with disdain at previous centuries. Events must be analyzed from the proper perspective, not simply plucked out of context and contrasted with our present knowledge and social mores. Not condemned out-of-hand without considering the values and conditions unique to a particular time.
 
As we mature, most of us move beyond the “Boy, people sure were stupid 1000 years ago – they thought the world was flat!” stage. But Brinkley and Donovan and their fellow Lefties, for all their feigned sophisticated superiority, are stuck in that myopic adolescent phase of looking at history, unable – or unwilling to apply any perspective.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*I’m not sure, speaking as a woman, that you can make the case that women’s suffrage was an altogether positive development (Can you say “Nanny State”?). But that’s a subject for another day.
**Understanding the contentions over the slavery issue, the founders believed it was more important to unite in the revolutionary cause, while at the same time providing for future abolition within the framework of the Constitution.
Slavery is still found throughout the world, even in the enlightened 21st century (like Leftists actually care).