“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
In 1854 (The same year St. Mary of Pine Bluff was established), Democrats proposed the expansion of slavery. Becoming fed up with this devaluing of humanity, ex-Democrat Party and ex-Whig Party members joined forces to form the Republican Party (actually, first named as such 90 miles from me in a schoolhouse in Ripon, WI).
They raised up their first Presidential candidate in one Abraham Lincoln who went on to become our 16th President in 1861. Just over one month later, the Confederate army began the Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Civil War, fought mainly over the issue of slavery, had begun. In total, the war left between 620,000 and 750,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties.
On the eve of the Civil War in 1860, four million of the 32 million Americans (~13%) were enslaved black people, almost all in the South. In 1863, President Lincoln would issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the slaves in the states “in rebellion” to be free. Shortly after Lincoln’s re-election in 1865, he was assassinated by a stage actor. (Source: Wikipedia)
“Each time history repeats itself, the price goes up.” – Ronald Wright
It’s unimaginable that we would, as a nation, devalue human life to such an extent that it would become normalized for one man to own another as his slave. UNIMAGINABLE!
What could be worse than that?! How about devaluing human life to such an extent that killing babies becomes normalized?!
As it was in 1854, one Party (same Party as in 1854) is FED UP, while the other Party (same Party as in 1854) is outraged that their “rights” are infringed upon. And, just as it was in 1861, the other Party will go to any extreme to protect their so-called “rights” to devalue the lives of babies.
Silence ensures that history repeats itself.” – Erin Gruwell
We are facing our own “1854 Moment.” Just as half of our country became FED UP and chose to stand strong to free the slaves, the time is now for us to join forces and free the babies. We have allowed this atrocity for over 49 years now, and nobody can sit on the sidelines any longer. Talk to God. Ask Him what role you will play in no longer devaluing human life and freeing all future babies from this present-day horror of horrors.
May God heal our land!!
I speak about all of this and more in today’s sermon:
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