Lincoln - With Him or Against Him?

Abraham Lincoln – Are You With Him or Against Him?
The View from the Middle

Abraham Lincoln once pondered that only about 10% of our country held extreme political views. He suggested that 90% of Americans are ideological moderates who are fundamentally good and fair people who can disagree without resorting to hate and often compromise for the greater good. To be fair, he also implied that the radical 10% was evenly split between the fanatical right and the rabid left. I tend to agree with Mr. Lincoln, which always makes me feel safe.
In an effort to support the 16th President’s position, let me be so bold as to speak for the 90%, to which I think Lincoln not only alluded, but also identified with. I will unequivocally denounce the Ku Klux Klan, the Neo-Nazi’s and all white supremacists groups in this country and around the world. Any group that denies equal justice and opportunity for any other group not only violates the spirit of our country as expressed in The Declaration of Independence, but also the letter of out laws as laid out in our Constitution.
Call them what you will (bigots, racists, supremacist), I condemn them all. But while I castigate the extreme of what some might call the right side of the political spectrum, let me do the same for the other extremists. I denounce any group or individual who encourages the murder of our law enforcement officers. No collection of humans is perfect, but I believe the VAST majority of our police officers are just trying to keep us safe and deserve our respect. When I hear people chanting, “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!” I must condemn that strenuously. When I hear these chants, I wonder why our police officers would even do that job for the piddling amount of money we pay them, and how our lives with really be without them.
I will also admonish anyone who will deny others the right of free speech. The Supreme Court has defined free speech very broadly and would definitely agree with Patrick Henry (or Evelyn Beatrice Hall) who declared that while, “I disagree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This, fortunately, includes racists and Neo-Nazis. I say “fortunately” purposefully, because I believe that the best rebuke to bigots, or racists or Neo-Nazis is their own words. The 90% will never be convinced by the ugly, malicious, absurd lies of these monsters. In fact, they may even enlighten some of their own extreme followers as they spew their vitriol.
Of course, I also disavow any group or individual who hates white people just because of the color of their skin. While it has become fashionable to demonize Caucasians, especially older white males, I have found no race, gender, creed or age group that has a monopoly on nobility or evil. All people have the capacity for decency and wickedness and have proved that time and again over history. If we are honest with ourselves we will admit to that undeniable truth.
Now, as polar opposite as these groups are, what could they possibly have in common? Prejudice! When you peal back these ugly onions you find that they all need to get their following to hate some other group without real cause. They must convince the 90% to leave the truth and their senses behind and prejudge scores of people according to their preconceived, erroneous and often imaginary notions.
Don’t be persuaded by the malignant dribble spouted by these extreme groups. Denounce all of them. As Americans we want and need more dialogue, not less. We need more understanding, empathy and forgiveness, not less. And certainly we need more real compromise, and not the childish obstructionism we see in Washington. Get on the side of Abraham Lincoln who resolved one of our country’s greatest challenges by listening, even to his rivals, and looked for the good in people, expecting to find it. If we do the same, as with Abe, we will surely find it!