One frustration I have in teaching is trying to get students to think past their latest Instagram and look at the patterns that history shows us and the possible dangers those patterns involve. We have been examining the progress of the slavery debate. There was a series of laws called Fugitive Slave Acts. They had various applications but the point was that slaves were still property according to the Constitution and still belonged to their owners, even if they had escaped.
In 1850 you had a series of events that illustrated the growing tension. In the context of the Fugitive Slave Act the state supreme court of Wisconsin declared the act unconstitutional. The state legislature claimed the right of secession over the issue. Vermont passed a law making it illegal to return runaway slaves. Massachusetts passed a law giving a five year prison term to anyone obeying the federal law.
Notice that 1850 was a long time before Obama or Trump. This is ten years before the South tried to break away. Politics has always been partisan. It will always be partisan.
What does that have to do with today? Does legalizing marijuana mean anything to you? Have you heard of sanctuary cities and now sanctuary states? How about reciprocity in concealed carry permits?
Do any of these issues carry the conviction to bring us back to the point of general violence? It would seem that the Progressives are pushing in that direction. And they are getting away with it. We don’t need to do much to bring back sanity. All we really need to do is enforce the law. Last I heard it was illegal to riot, burn and destroy. We don’t need anything more than a few arrests, trials and jail time. It is already illegal to slander and defame. We don’t need to censor the press, just hold them accountable for betraying the country and telling lies about people they don’t like.
We can push for civil behavior now or reap the whirlwind later.
homo unius libri
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteOf course, everyone feels like it can't happen to them.
DeleteGrace and peace.