Thank goodness the holiday season is over. Especially the past two holiday weeks. I have no predictions for 2013, only questions. Will the U.S. default on its debt? Where will war break out? Can I find something useful to do with the rest of my life? When is the next storm coming? Is Congress mad?
Meantime, I’m reading not one, but two, big, thick books. One book is no longer enough to escape from reality. Nonfiction: “Team of Rivals“ (about Lincoln and America in the 1850s and 1860s) by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Fiction: “Back To Blood” (about Miami and America in the 21st century) by Tom Wolfe.
Two writers worthy of respect, Goodwin and Wolfe. Two truth-tellers. The political polarization leading to the Civil War seems terribly familiar. The ethnic friction in Miami seems dangerous. Diversity is good, I know. Hostility is bad. Can’t we all just get along?
In 1860, northern and western electoral votes (shown in red) put Lincoln in the White House. Does anything about this map look familiar?
Can the center hold? Abraham Lincoln said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Reasons to be hopeful: The days will lengthen soon. Pitchers and catchers will report for spring training. That’s all I have to report at the moment.
— John Hayden
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I haven’t heard that Lincoln quote in quite some time. It really is relevant to current times. Seems like we’d be hearing it more.
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The war started with the Clinton impeachment. Congress is rabid. And Pitchers and catchers soon to report is good reporting.
Big Book suggestion about Civil War. A World On Fire. http://www.amazon.com/World-Fire-Britains-Crucial-American/dp/0375756965
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Thanks for the tip on “World On Fire.” I’ll put it on my list.
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The days are already getting longer.
I like the Lincoln quote. The USA is pretty divided.
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Seems like we’re getting more divided every year.
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This morning, I posted this quote on FB – “America will never be destroyed from the outside.
If we faltered and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroy ourselves.”
Abraham Lincoln
Talk about synchronicity 🙂
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Watching Congress at “work” gives me a “faltering” feeling. They don’t inspire confidence.
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