Filed under: Capitalism, Education, Election 2020, Politics, Progressivism, Socialism, The United States | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Education, History
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s student government recently approved a resolution that calls for the removal of a statue on campus of Abraham Lincoln. The resolution claims that the statue is “a racist remnant of white supremacy.”
Have you looked recently at the cost of a four year college education? I just did and I was shocked. College professors often express the claim that they should be getting the same amount in wages as corporate CEOs. After all, most CEOs don’t have doctoral degrees!
“In order to create an inclusive and safe environment for all students, campus fixtures with racist remnants should be reevaluated and then removed and/or replaced on inputs from BIPOC students”
Well, most corporate CEOs make lots of money for their shareholders, which usually makes shareholders feel kindly towards CEOs. College students are presumably mostly over 18 years of age. and they have learned absolutely noting about one of our most famous and revered presidents.
Why is he revered, and why is he famous? No, he never owned a single slave. He was Commander in Chief of the Civil War, which was won by the Union, defeating the slave-holding South. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Racist indeed! These 18 to 20 year old students don’t even know who he was. That speaks volumes about the state of American education.
That should send every parent to every school conference and every school board meeting and throw in a few letters to your State education secretary. By the time they reach college level, they should have some basic facts of history down. You can’t expect even the doctoral level professors to go back and fill in what the should have absorbed in their past 12 years of American education.
Filed under: Freedom, History, The United States | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Donald Trump, George Washington, Gilbert Stuart, President's Day
This year President’s Day is on Monday, the 17th. It was designed to honor George Washington’s birthday which is actually on the 22nd, but then they decided to add in the rest of the presidents so no one would be excluded, and to stop any vast array of birthdays of presidents around the calendar. Trump is the 45th president, so you can see the problem, and just imagine the outcry if we deigned to set aside a special day to honor Donald John Trump, however much he might deserve it.
If you are interested in our first president, and the leader of the army in the Revolution, you can read past pieces about Washington in our archives, especially the ones about his image, and the conspiracy behind that. There’s an image at the head of one that is a “forensic reconstruction“, and some biographies are recommended.
If you have a dollar bill handy, especially a fairly crisp one, compare the portrait of Washington on the dollar bill with the image at the head of American Elephants today. That’s because artist Gilbert Stuart was unkind to George Washington because Washington was more annoyed than grateful that Stuart was painting his picture. The face on the dollar bill comes from Stuart’s mean portrait. Even the reconstruction is surely faulty since Washington had spent years outdoors in all kinds of weather, with fair skin, lots of sunburns and lots of wrinkles, which do alter the appearance. Every classroom when I was growing up had a portrait of Lincoln and Washington, and a flag in the corner to which we all pledged allegiance. There is a generation that learned their history from Howard Zinn, and consequently don’t know that America really is a special country.*
I don’t know if there are any employers who give a day off for President’s Day, but that could be another 3 day weekend which are very nice, but not so much in mid February.
*If you were unfortunate enough to grow up with Howard Zinn’s “history” a must-read is Mary Grabar’s new book Debunking Howard Zinn, in which the author exposes and documents the multitude of lies, bad sources, and deliberate falsehoods Zinn used to influence a generation to think that America is nothing special. They’re probably the same ones now favoring the old socialist Bernie Sanders who lures them in with phony promises of making everybody equal and universal health care, and paying off their student loans. Fat chance.
Filed under: Politics | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Ford's Theater, John Wilkes Booth
President Abraham Lincoln died on this day one hundred and fifty years ago. He went to the theater, we are told, as a bit of an escape after all the speeches and celebration following the surrender at Appomattox courthouse. He was shot in the back of the head on the fourteenth day of April,1865 by John Wilkes Booth, but he lingered until the next day. Lee had surrendered only five days earlier, marking the end to a terrible war that tore the nation apart. Lincoln was not universally loved, and he kept a drawer full of the death threats he received. But he held the fractious nation together, and freed the slaves. Honor him.
Filed under: Capitalism, Freedom, History, Military, Politics, The Constitution, The United States | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Saved the Union, The Gettysburg Address
Reprinted from 2011
I liked it better when we celebrated Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday separately. When it is “President’s Day.” and a three-day weekend, nobody remembers. And you and your children must remember this man. He saved the Union, and freed the slaves.
To understand America, you need to understand the Gettysburg Address: (Vanderleun)
This picture emphasizes Lincoln’s height, although his lean body and the top hat emphasize it even more. He was 6’4″, tall today, but not unusually tall. Average height in the 1860s must have been much less. George Washington was 6’2″ and considered very tall.
Filed under: Capitalism, Freedom, History, Military | Tags: Abraham Lincoln, He Saved the Union, The Gettysburg Address
I liked it better when we celebrated Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday separately. Remember this man, he saved the Union.
To understand America, you need to understand the Gettysburg Address: Vanderleun.
American Elephants 