I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless."
-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
(Note: The authenticity of this quote has been disputed, but I believe it is worthwhile to discuss nonetheless. The link I have provided is my proof of the validity of this quote, but I leave it to you, the reader, to decide.)
Witness the great disparity in income between the very rich and everyone else in the last few decades. Witness the attacks on Latinos, Muslims, African Americans, the LGBT community and women's rights that dominate political discourse in the right wing of American politics. Witness these statistics.
. . . this year's annual Economic Report of the President pointed out, "in recent years nearly half of all income - including both wages and salaries and nonlabor income - has gone to 10 percent of families." "The top 1 percent of families now receive nearly 25 percent of income, up from less than 10 percent in the 1970s," the report said.
Less than 5 years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln the Republican party became totally subservient to the powers of Big Business and the interests of the rich.
We live in a nation of Corporate Personhood, a nation where Corporations have limited liability and freedom of speech, a nation where money equals speech and Corporations have an unlimited right to both. A nation where unfettered free trade outsources our jobs, a nation where national deficits caused by wars of aggression and tax cuts for the rich can only be solved by taxing the non rich and slashing government services, a nation where our trade deficit is entirely ignored, and where anything less than free market corporatism is considered socialism by many.
And then read the words of President Abraham Lincoln one more time . . .
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless."
-- U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
Ref: The Lincoln Encyclopedia, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
150 years later, may God grant us the strength to survive the Corporations we have created.
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