"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."-Abraham Lincoln
What do you suppose Abraham Lincoln might say about the America, if he were alive today? Now there is no way to be sure, but do you see him supporting the vast polarization that has occurred in America in the last 5 years? Would he be likely to adopt the current ideals and policies republican party? Would he strive to change things for the better...at least as he would see it...even if it meant going against the republican grain. Do you suppose, if he had been here to experience 9/11, and it's aftermath, would he have changed very much inside? We all changed a little that day, didn't we? Some became scared, some found some inner strength to look for the answers, some resolved within themselves to bring the truth to light, no matter how unpopular it may have been viewed. We all changed that day, to some degree, but collectively did we change for the better?
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
-Abraham Lincoln
Last week Fact Check.org, published an article about how certain members of the republican party, are "falsely quoting Abraham Lincoln as advocating, exiling, or hanging members of Congress who damage military morale in wartime." According to the FactCheck article, it has been going on for quite sometime, and in all forms of media from speeches, to letters to the editor, but most recently by Diana Irey, who is currently running against Rep John Murtha of Pennsylvania. Also according to the article, Lincoln never said anything like that... in fact,the "quote" that has been circulated so freely among the republican party, came from conservative author, J. Michael Waller, who admits the words are NOT Lincoln's, but indeed they are his own. Waller claims that it was an error that quotation marks were placed around those words, and that the mistake should be blamed on his editor for not catching it.
"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
-Abraham Lincoln
When FactCheck.org ran a search to see how many times the quote had been used against opponents of President Bush's war policy, there were 18,000 references to the quote, and on further examination of the original article written by Waller, there FactCheck notes that there were additional historical errors. FactCheck contacted the former managing editor of INSIGHT magazine, Scott Stanley, where the article first appeared, and he denies ever inserting the quotation marks as alleged by Waller, but Stanley went on to say that the mistake could have been made by any one of six "formatting editors," who were known to take liberties with an authors copy. The complete FactCheck article can be read here.
"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."
-Abraham Lincoln
Here is what I am most curious about. What do you think? A lying politician is almost a given. Lying doesn't know race, gender, or party affiliation. So, tell me, with the midterm elections coming up, just few short months away, how much research do you put into the candidates you are presented with? Do you rely on the party you most often vote for, to provide you with accurate information, or do you do a little bit of the footwork or I should say, keyboard work yourself? This is an important election coming up, a lot of things could change because of it, and a lot of things could, unfortunately, remain the same. Ever since Rep Murtha dared speak his mind, last November, regarding his feelings about the war in Iraq, there have been some serious, and mean spirited stones cast at him in the name of patriotism. And as it turns out, those stones sometimes are made of lies. Given the amount of marginal behavior by members of both parties, can you really afford to not do some researching of your own before you cast your votes in November? Share with me, what do you plan to do to prepare yourself to vote?
"To stand in silence when they should be protesting, makes cowards of men."
-Abraham Lincoln
-OndineMonet
All quotes via ThinkExist.com
