Would Abraham Lincoln be Electable Today?

Of the many icons that represent Abraham Lincoln, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., is clearly one of the most recognizable. Open twenty-four hours a day, it enjoys over three and a half million visitors every year. The focal point of this remarkable structure is the large seated sculpture, the work of Daniel Chester French.

Beneath that sculpture is a basement gift shop, and a room with large marble slabs that have etched in them significant quotes and statements of our sixteen president. One such quote doesn't match the political history that, if taught at all, is taught in the public schools in America. All that is taught about Lincoln is that he was the "Great Emancipator". Anyone who disagrees with that moniker is usually labeled as a "far-right-wing-red-necked bigot", ignoring what is etched in stone in the very memorial built to honor this historical figure's memory.

Twelve years ago, we visited that memorial, and when I read this particular slab, I was stunned at the brazened misrepresentation of government education. I was compelled to take a picture of the quote, but unfortunately, the technology I was using back then required a flash which obliterated a portion of the quote. The quotation engraved in this slab is taken from a letter written by Lincoln to Horace Greeley on August 22, 1862. Here is the balance of that quote:

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause." -- August 22, 1862 - Letter to Horace Greeley

Here is another quote that very rarely sees the light of day:

"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything." -- September 18, 1858 - Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois

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There are certainly well-documented quotes of Lincoln impugning slavery and slave owners. It doesn't take long to find those, but it does take some doing to find these. In today's world, Abraham Lincoln's career would have ended in Illinois, BUT, on the other hand, Barack Obama's didn't, either.

Dare We Think?

In 5th century B.C., the governing philosophy of the Athenian-led
Greek empire was taught by a group of teachers who were collectively labeled as Sophists. One of the leading Sophists was Protagoras, who is credited with the following quote: "man is the measure of all things". Implicit in this statement is that there are no absolutes. The measure of truth and justice differs from time to time and person to person.

Noted Greek philosopher, Socrates, also lived during this time. His opponents, the Athenians, who included those in leadership, labeled him with the nickname "the gadfly". His persistent questioning served to inspire friend and foe alike to question how one arrived at the truth, thus earning the moniker. He was credited with having a profound influence on the disciplines of epistemology (study of knowledge) and logic.

Socrates' contemporaries in leadership did not view him as the historic legend, he would later become. They arrested him in 399 B.C. with charges of corrupting the youth of the city by teaching them to question the decision-making process of those governing. He was convicted and condemned to death by poisoning, refusing a life of exile for several reasons:
1. Fleeing would reflect fear of death which would contradict his own teachings.
2. His propensity to irritate those governing with insightful questions would make him a enemy wherever else he chose to live.
3. Fleeing the judgment against him would contradict his own teachings, and would be tantamount to undermining social order.

What can be learned from this?

1. Any leader who rejects and objects to any questions about his decision making has the potential to be the proverbial "fool caught in his folly". He will be more dangerous than a mother bear defending her cubs.
2. See #1.

"Some animals are more equal than others"

During the famine of 1921 through 1922 in the Volga region of the new Soviet Russia, over 5 million peasants died. During this devastation, which resulted from the civil war and Bolshevik policies, children were the first to suffer. Stalin learned to use starvation as a weapon. During the 1933 famine in Ukraine, the Russian wheat belt, the goal was to collectivize the farms. His suppression of revolts in the peasantry over his state-sponsored confiscation of private property inflicted death for over 6 million Ukrainians. Dead bodies lay in the streets, ignored by an indifferent population, numbed by the genocidal catastrophe. Cannibalism was so rampant that the government printed posters that read, "Eating your children is an act of barbarism".

Before the world even knew Adolph Hitler, over 11 million Russians had died as a result of a socialistic philosophy enforced by the strong arm of the state. Besides murdering their own people, the Soviets were also experts at hiding the truth of their rule from adoring syncophants around the world. One such romantic was a gifted writer:

George Orwell, the nom de plume of Erich Arthur Blair, was an English writer in various genres, but he is best known for two of his books, Animal Farm (published in 1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (published in 1949).

Born in India to English parents, Blair described his upbringing as "lower-upper-middle-class". His father, Richard, worked in the Indian Civil Service.

In studying, analyzing, or reviewing any artistic endeavor, it is important, if even remotely possible, to learn the motivation of the artist. This is true for any art form, be it music, painting, sculpting, or writing. Blair did us a favor by writing on this subject in his essay Why I Write:

“First I spent five years in an unsuitable profession (the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma), and then I underwent poverty and the sense of failure. This increased my natural hatred of authority and made me for the first time fully aware of the existence of the working classes, and the job in Burma had given me some understanding of the nature of imperialism: but these experiences were not enough to give me an accurate political orientation. Then came Hitler, the Spanish Civil War, etc. By the end of 1935 I had still failed to reach a firm decision.
The Spanish war and other events in 1936-37 turned the scale and thereafter I knew where I stood. Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism, as I understand it.”

A proponent for socialism, Blair had wanted to write for the ‘common man’ and purposefully lived as a tramp in London and the Home Counties and stayed with miners in the north. Blair learned of the disparity between the classes and came to know a life of poverty and hardship amongst beggars and thieves. His study of the under-classes in general would provide the theme for many of his works to follow.

(Taken from http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/)

In this idealistic fervor, Blair, with his new wife, Eileen O'Shaughnessy, headed for Spain to fight the fascist Generalissimo Franco. Fighting with Russian-backed NKVD, Blair naively thought that all Russians were on the same page. In Spain, he learned differently. Shot in the throat, but surviving his wounds, he claimed that as a Trotsky-ite, he was shot by a Stalinist. Many of his friends were not as fortunate, meeting violent ends at the hands of Stalin's assassins. This obviously did not sit well with him. Nevertheless, he and his wife barely survived to get back to England to recover from his injuries with a new set of loyalties as World War II began.

At the beginning of the war, Eileen worked in the Censorship Department in London, and Blair just wrote. With his adventures in Spain still fresh on his mind, he wrote Animal Farm. English publishers, with Soviet sympathizers in their midst, delayed publication of the book until 1945 after the war was over. These sympathizers were afraid to offend the Russians.

Four years later, in 1949, Nineteen Eighty-Four was published. A year later, Blair was dead, after a three year bout with tuberculosis. He was 46, but what he wrote still resonates today.

Democracy in America

Alexis de Tocqueville

(July 29, 1805 - April 16, 1859)

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A noted French historian and philosopher of the 19th century, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote a two-volume study of America entitled Democracy in America. Within those pages are a number of quotes that still are relevant to today. Here are a few of those thoughts that few politicans have the guts to embrace or quote in public:

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Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.

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Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.

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In no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more alert than in the United States, and nowhere else does the majority display less inclination toward doctrines which in any way threaten the way property is owned.

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Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.

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The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.

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There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.

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It cannot be repeated too often that nothing is more fertile in prodigies than the art of being free; but there is nothing more arduous than the apprenticeship of liberty. Such is not the case with despotic institutions: despotism often promises to make amends for a thousand previous ills; it supports the right, it protects the oppressed, and it maintains public order. The nation is lulled by the temporary prosperity which accrues to it, until it is roused to a sense of its own misery. Liberty, on the contrary, is generally established in the midst of agitation, it is perfected by civil discord, and its benefits cannot be appreciated until it is already old.

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I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers — and it was not there … in her fertile fields and boundless forests — and it was not there … in her rich mines and her vast world commerce — and it was not there … in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution — and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous­ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.

Pax Romana

Caesar Augustus, whose full given name was Gaius Julius Caesar Octavius, ruled Rome from 27 B.C. to A.D. 14. The great-nephew of Julius Caesar bore the family name, which at the time of his rule had no political import. It was only later that the name Caesar was attached to many Roman emperors. His title of Augustus was conferred upon him by the Roman Senate when he restored the Republic in a move to recapture the glory of the early Roman Republic.

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In addition to prosperity and peace, Augustus reign brought stability and order to both the government and society. Attempting to restore honesty and efficiency in government, he placed ability above social class when selecting government officials. He removed unqualified, self-seeking men from office and replaced them with well-qualified officials paid by the state.
Augustus correctly realized that a civilization is only as strong as the moral character of her people. Therefore, he sought social reform to revive the traditional Roman virtues of duty, discipline, and hard work. He encouraged the passage of laws that promoted family life and rewarded those families that had many children. (World History for Christian Schools, Bob Jones University Press, Pages 96-97, 1998)

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It is interesting to note that government ruled by executive fiat can have positive results. Augustus promoted these positive changes through the Roman-senate-passed laws, but it shouldn't be ignored that the title, Augustus, which was given him by the same body of legislators actually is a title of deity that had been previously limited to Roman gods. If a society/culture/civilization chooses to be ruled by a powerful personality so narrowly defined then any freedoms available are enjoyed at the whim of that individual. The period of Augustus' reign was labeled Pax Romana, but only while he reigned. To choose to be ruled by a person--and not by the rule of law--is a slippery slope (if not a super highway) to oppression and tyranny. Can you say, "Nero"?

Has Congress Always Been Deaf?

Ben Franklin/John Dickinson

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During the Second Continental Congress, on the eve of the War for Independence from Britain, these two distinguished delegates were having one of their many conversations about whether or not the American colonies should separate from England. At some point in one of these discussions, Franklin said this to Dickinson on June 21, 1776:

It may be that we of this Congress, so consumed by our lofty debates, are the last to understand. We still believe it is our purpose to give direction to the American people. If we will take the time to listen, we will find that they are giving direction to us.

(This quote may be found, recorded by Jeff Shaara, in his book Rise to Rebellion, published by Ballantine Books, a Random House Publishing Group)

Repeating History

Repeating History

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George Santayana, the noted philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist, whose life and career spanned the last half of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century is credited with the following oft misquoted statement: Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it. (The statement is taken from Reason in Common Sense, the first volume of his five volume set, The Life of Reason.)

We are rather doubtful that this blog will stem the tsunami-sized tide of ignorance that engulfs our culture, but we are utterly convinced that lazy silence is even less effective. That is the noble reason for this experiment. The basest of reasons is simple: it feels good "to get it off your chest".

Part of the reason for the aforementioned ignorance is the remarkable lack of curiosity, a rare commodity these days. Yet, it is the engine that drives discovery. It is not always laziness that stifles a search for the truth. Often it is fear and pride: fear that with the truth, we may have to change, and pride, because we don't like to admit that we were wrong. To be sure, however, laziness does play its part. I heard a pastor friend tell a group of people last week that in America today, there is the predilection to accept the easy lie rather than to seek to understand the complicated truth.

So, in the posts that follow, we will simply share our discoveries. As much as is possible and necessary we will document our sources. This is particularly important as we live in a culture that uses, as it's underpinings, a foundation of lies. In that spirit, this post begins with a snippet of history surround a significant man, who is often misquoted. Why is he significant? Among other things, he mentored modern literary figures like George Bernard Shaw and T.S. Eliot, to name a couple. "Google" George Santayana's name, and you will find out more.