“I know that the great volcano at Washington, aroused and directed by the evil spirit that reigns there, is belching forth the lava of political corruption in a current broad and deep, which is sweeping with frightful velocity over the whole length and breadth of the land, bidding fair to leave unscathed no green spot or living thing; while on its bosom are riding, like demons on the waves of hell, the imps of that evil spirit, and fiendishly taunting all those who dare resist its destroying course with the hopelessness of their effort; and, knowing this, I cannot deny that all may be swept away. Broken by it I, too, may be; bow to it I never will.”If this does not describe the process of destroying the country that is going on today, I don’t know what does.
Two points.
First, the country survived. When this was written the Mexican American War was still in the future. The Civil War was still 27 years away. Things are going to get worse. Then they are going to get worse again. We have Bleeding Kansas to look forward to. The nation survived. Let us hope and pray that we can survive even Barak Obama.
Second, who are these people that claim that the country is more divided now than any time in the past? Have they read any history at all? Division and difference of opinion are the bed-rock of a free society. Agreement and conformity are the picture of a totalitarian state. People are not inclined to agree on everything but we can be taught to respect the rights of others.
So things may look bad but the lesson of history, and Abraham Lincoln, is that we can survive.
Lincoln, Abraham. “Speech on National Bank in the Hall of the House of Representatives, Springfield, Illinois, December 20, 1839.” The Writings of Abraham Lincoln - Volume 1: 1832-1843. Amazon Free Edition. Kindle Loc. 2063-68.
homo unius libri
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.