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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Catfish who wrote (119848)	12/28/2000 12:54:46 PM
From: Johannes Pilch	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

You continually try to confuse modern day America, with its political correctness, and 19th century America. False. I do no such thing. I apply Jeffersonian principles to our way of life, precisely as William Lloyd Garrison and millions of others did in 19th century America. When I observe the doctrine that forms the basis of my own dang citizenship, I come to one conclusion, the Confederacy was wrong, completely un-American to reject it. The issue that started slavery was an economic one.....abundant cheap labor. This is totally irrelevant to this discussion. The question concerns not what started slavery. It concerns how the Confederacy justified slavery’s defense. It justified slavery by completely rejecting the principles that sustain my country. That, is why I am eternally hostile to it. If you studied your history deeply enough, you might see that......but, then again YOU might not. I assure you, I have studied my history—yours also. That is why I take my view. It was an age where a medium of exchange did not always take the form of money. Barter trades for goods and services would very often be made. Several years of apprenticeships would be served for very little or no money in order for the young to learn a craft or trade. This gave the artisans and craftsman access to cheap labor, and allowed the young a chance to learn the trade. But in all this the labourers were treated as human, allowed to exist with fundamental American dignity. Only the blacks were denied this freedom. And why? Because of the Confederate perception that by Divine Law they were undeserving of it. That, my friend, is simply un-American. It was un-American in the 19th century. Heck, it was un-American in the 18th century and most of the founders knew it. That is why they hoped to see slavery ended. But then came along the Confederates to claim the founders were wrong. According to the Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens, the Confederacy was established on principles exactly opposite those sustaining the United States. What is an American to do in these circumstances? Fight! By God he must fight and win sparing no thing and no expense. The concept of mass production was not invented until Eli Whitney came up with the assembly line concept for producing guns. He invented the cotton gin as well which meant an explosion in the production of cotton, and a greater demand for cheap labor to harvest it. All this is just fine. But it still serves as no basis to repudiate the philosophy that sustains my country. If the Confederates wanted cheap labour, they could have paid the slaves pennies and acknowledge their inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They did not do this, but instead claimed Jefferson was wrong, that God ordained that blacks should be owned by whites. We can’t very well expect blacks today to roundly accept Confederate symbols after the Confederates did and said what they did. Heck, we can’t expect round acceptance of the Confederacy from any true American. I say a guy can fly his dang Confederate flag until he pukes. Union boys preserved that right for him. But he ought not demand everyone pay for it, certainly not the victims of the Confederacy. It has nothing to do with political correctness. It has everything to do with being an American. Yes, there has always been a demand for a large quantity of cheap labor in America… For instance, would you be willing to pay $20 for a hamburger? I do not think so. Please. If hamburgers cost 20 bucks I simply would not buy them. I danged sure wouldn't go around claiming we need to enslave folks to bring down the price of a dang hamburger. You are gonna hafta put this dang argument back on the shelf.