Another great post, Bill. Also, thanks for indulging my friend's treatise the other day. He was quite delighted that you were willing to engage him. In terms of this post, it reminds me of a Lincoln quote (which you alluded to in the beginning) which he wrote to George Robertson in 1855: "On the question of liberty, as a principle, we are not what we have been." But as you point out, Lincoln may not have actually believed that the era of the Founding was a golden age if he had had to live through it. Personally, I'm obsessed with my grandparents' lives, and I imagine that the golden age is the 1950s: WWII ended the Great Depression, and both of my grandfathers (who have both returned from their military service) were able to start their families. But in all reality, even if I was able to go back to the 1950s, I could probably find plenty of things to complain about (this is starting to sound like Back to the Future now...).
Another great post, Bill. Also, thanks for indulging my friend's treatise the other day. He was quite delighted that you were willing to engage him. In terms of this post, it reminds me of a Lincoln quote (which you alluded to in the beginning) which he wrote to George Robertson in 1855: "On the question of liberty, as a principle, we are not what we have been." But as you point out, Lincoln may not have actually believed that the era of the Founding was a golden age if he had had to live through it. Personally, I'm obsessed with my grandparents' lives, and I imagine that the golden age is the 1950s: WWII ended the Great Depression, and both of my grandfathers (who have both returned from their military service) were able to start their families. But in all reality, even if I was able to go back to the 1950s, I could probably find plenty of things to complain about (this is starting to sound like Back to the Future now...).
In the immortal words of Billy Joel…
'Cause the good ole days weren't
Always good
And tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems