Pestilential– Morally destructive.
“I view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the liberties of man.” –Thomas Jefferson, Sept. 23, 1800
In September of 1800 Thomas Jefferson was running for president. Imagine a presidential candidate calling our major cities “pestilential” today. They would have my vote in a second. Look at our major cities. What’s the best example of a physically and morally clean big city? Jefferson’s line is prophetic.