Posted by Buzzman72 on March 05, 2009 at 10:14:14 from (74.129.220.44):
In Reply to: OT: A House Divided posted by Buzzman72 on March 04, 2009 at 16:35:04:
More on the Civil War analogy...
My grandfather's grandfather came to this country from England with most of his family when he was 10 years old. When he was 29, he was serving in a volunteer regiment in the Civil War. I recently found a book that chronicles the history of that regiment. What I read there mirrors a lot of what I see on these boards.
During times of truce--such as when the terms of surrender were being negotiated at Vicksburg--the troops on both sides told jokes, exchanged gossip about both sides, and generally got along well. But mere minutes or hours before, they were willing to take the lives of one another, for what they believed to be right. And I suppose there's value to fighting for what you believe in, even fighting to the death.
But look at what America accomplished in the years after the Civil War, when the country began operating once again as a unified nation. Can you honestly say that we DON'T accomplish more when we can sit down and reason together, and work together? Prior to the 1860's the US was no more or less great than a dozen comparable nations around the world. It was only after we bound up our wounds, and put away most of our differences with our brother Americans, that we became the most prosperous and respected nation in the history of the world.
Today, it makes me sad that extremists on both sides of the political spectrum would sacrifice our very nation for the opportunity to say "I was right!" Compromise is no longer considered the province of the wise, but it's the ignoble home of the weak. In today's world, those on the extremes would have Solomon split the baby, rather than give in one iota for the sake of the greater good. It's all about "I got mine!",it seems, rather than about the greater good in our society.
And left and right are equally at fault. But as I said in other posts, it's easy to fix the blame; it's a lot harder to fix the problems that our country faces. If I thought I had the answers, I'd be at the front of the line trying to get the message out. But I'm smart enough to realize that I'm not wise enough to fix the current mess without causing other problems.
So I'm not out to lead anyone, contrary to what MN JOE suggested. I just want to ask people to THINK. Think about what would be best for America for the long term, and not just for the next week or the next month. It's expediency and short-term thinking that have put us where we are today; it'll be thinking and acting for the long term that will correct the course of our nation...or the lack of that long-term thought and action that will ensure our destruction as a nation.
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