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0 sats \ 7 replies \ @02dc6a50c1 12 Dec 2023 \ parent \ on: Two competing surveillance bills are moving through the House of Representatives privacy
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I will add that my public school education taught me the same talking points you just used. I used to argue with people just as you are doing. Then I read more of Lincoln's writings and historians critical of state power. I trust that you are in the same boat I was in many years ago. Propagandized by the government schools and pop culture.
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Clearly slavery is evil. The war was fought to maintain the union. The south wanted to keep slavery and the north had more power/wealth. The south wanted to leave the union (which it had the right to do). Lincoln would not allow them to leave so they fought a war. Saying the war was fought over slavery is both reductive and wrong. It was a key factor but not the goal of the north.
But that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to the actions of the state against citizens during that time. State power greatly expanded. Not only against the south but against citizens of the north that both opposed slavery and the war(Copperheads). There really wasn't a good guy in the war between the states. Like today, the north used a moral cause to justify its incredible bloodshed. The US is the only nation to end slavery by war. There were many other options besides war. Slavery is one of the greatest evils man perpetrates but that war didn't end it. Not in the US or anywhere. I'm grateful that the southern slaves were freed but I will not lionize Lincoln or the war.
A case could be made that the US was never free. I'm open to that. After all slavery existed. Additionally you can point to many other actions of the state that demonstrated this.
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I forgot to add. During the war (its always during war that we lose the most freedoms) Lincoln imprisoned journalists that were critical of his polices. This was a clear abuse of power and the 1st amendment and one common during times of war. Lincoln basically acted as a dictator during the war. These are some reasons I referred to that time.
If another state had decided to succeed from the Union I can guarantee you he would have tried to stop it. Regardless of the reason.
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Appreciate that history & perspective.
Many people around here seem to be sleeping or ignorant to this knowledge. Hard to not reach the conclusion that history is repeating.
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The other interesting thing on this topic is the work of economist Bob Murphy on the absolute failure of slavery. Not only is it immoral. It is also a poor use of human resources. He makes a very interesting case that not only did slavery harm the slaves it also harmed those that weren't slaves nor owners of slaves. The collective productivity lost by enslaving people is huge. If you think about it, it makes sense. A free man will have incentives to do his best work with both his mind and body. A slave will rightfully despise his owner and the work he is forced to do. This will lead to less productivity.
That line of thinking made me wonder what amazing discoveries we are missing out on due to the poverty in most of the world. What minds are we being robbed of? What boys and girls around the world could cure cancer or solve other huge issues? What if we had a fair and just money? We have no idea what we could be missing out on.
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Probably 20 years ago I was a kid arguing with my wife's cousin about the "civil war". I was firm in my conviction that it was about slavery. I was firm but ignorant. I knew the guy was way more knowledgeable on the subject. He planted seeds. Probably 10 years later I read The Real Lincoln - What You're Not Supposed to Know About Dishonest Abe by Thomas J. Dilorenzo. That peaked my curiosity and I started reading more about this period of time. And surprise to surprise the government schools leave a lot of important info out of the story in their path to making a believer in the state.
The classic response to criticism of Lincoln is to shout racism or Neo-confederate! Its propaganda programming to call people that are a threat to a narrative names. When we sink to that level we have lost. You may not agree me but at least you shouldn't be ignorant of history if you are gonna blindly trust the "official" story.
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