By Donald B. Ardell – December 13, 2009
The American Civil War came about because the people living
in northern and eleven southern states believed, after years of failed attempts
to resolve differences, that their interests, passions and values were
irreconcilable. The war resulted because there seemed no recourse shy of
wholesale killing each other. There were many causes for that war, but mutually
exclusive ideas about what constituted a decent value system was at the top of
the list for both sides. And so,
on April 12, 1861, the cannons went off and the fighting began. The slaughter and
maiming lasted four years.
Robert
E. Lee's surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant
at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. While this event is recognized as the end of the Civil War,
there were Rebel forces fighting in the field until June 23rd. (The true end came only when
Confederate General Stand Watie surrendered at Doaksville, near Fort Towson,
Oklahoma.) Reconstruction and
reconciliation got underway.
Today, 144 years on, a new version of the south has risen
again. Now the Confederacy is the
Republican Party. Lincoln would
not recognize nor want any part of Today's Republicans are the party of the
Radical Right of loud and angry, uncivil tea party activists, religious
fundamentalists and Know-Nothing morons who want as their leader a certified
airhead named Sarah Palin. The GOP
or God's Own Party goes rogue against science, reason, separation of church and
state, equitable taxation and policies of moderation. For eight years while in
power with George Bush and their own Congress, they removed restraints on Wall
Street, started two wars and subsidized the pharmaceutical industry via drugs
for seniors - and paid for none of it - and now they scream at the Democratic
leader for growing deficits.
This version of rebel ideology carried 22 states in the last
presidential election, oddly twice the number of states in the original
confederacy. Of course, there are
50 states now as opposed to 34 then, and the new Confederacy of red states in
2008 were concentrated in the center of the nation, as well as the original
southern stalwarts minus Florida, North Carolina and Virginia. Today, the radical rebels are well
represented in every state.
The problems facing the nation are at least as destructive
as those extant in 1861. Slavery
is off the table, but other perils to decency, peace, harmony, prosperity and
tranquility must be faced, such as::
* Record
deficits.
* Debilitating
wars in two countries, Afghanistan and Iraq.
* Staggering
unemployment at levels not seen since the Great Depression.
* A weak
economy with a depressed housing sector.
* A debased
currency related to massive budget deficits, government debt and massive
opposition to tax increases.
* Out of control
corporate lobbying and corruption.
* A governance
crisis widely viewed as the worst in modern history.
* Political
divisions between rich and poor, among ethnic groups (non-Hispanic whites
versus African Americans and Hispanics), across religious affiliations, between
native-born and immigrants and along other social fault lines.
* Venomous
politics - the new Confederates see government as a zero-sum struggle between
the righteous (them) and the craven (liberals and other godless socialists
lacking values).
* Inadequate
public services, a crumbling infrastructure, dreadful educational systems and
energy dependence. (Source: Jeffrey Sachs, America's Broken Politics, Guardian.Co.UK,
11/23/2009.)
In
this context, the near-unanimous voting block of Republicans oppose every
attempt by the Obama Administration to promote reforms - and in so doing damage
the union as much as the cannonballs aimed at Fort Sumter 148 years ago. This
time, the Rebels or contemporary Confederates are not led by individuals of
stature and respect, such, as Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, Samuel Cooper,
Judah Benjamin, James Seddon, Joseph Johnston or Jefferson Davis. Today's rebels, or maybe rogues, are
small-minded, mean-spirited bitter little people. (You can read a profile on
some of them here.)
Contemporary Rebel targets include the secular Republic of
states once united. The Founders
would be dismayed to observe what has happened to their noble experiment of
government for and by the people. Turns out the people are not what they used to be. They are not the measure of 21st
century challenges. This time,
unlike in 1861, more than four years may be required to reform the worse
elements. Nothing less is needed
if we are to recover and again achieve the union we were. Only the new greatest generation has a
chance to manage the myriad, epic problems partially enumerated above.
We should not discount the very real possibility that, even
united (which we clearly are not), these problems will prove intractable. If that is the case, then America's
best days as a nation have passed. Keep your passports current.
For
now, it seems the Republican Confederates have declared war on the Republic.
Since the new Red State Confederacy is everywhere if clustered in the heartland
and south, Unionists must live among Rebels. The Republican Confederates are armed, dangerous and deeply
demented, they love god and they do not take kindly to Democrats large or small
case.
Be vigilant. And be well.
Don Ardell is the Well Infidel. He favors evidence over faith, reason over revelation and
meaning and purpose over spirituality. His enthusiasm for reason, exuberance and liberty are reflected in his
books (14), newsletter (511 editions of a weekly report) and lectures across
North America and a dozen other countries.