CAUTION: Phony Lincoln Quote AheadUpdate: I have recently been made aware of the fraudlulentioususness of the following quote. I hope that it does not detract from the overall theme of my post, which is that there is no greater threat to Democracy than misattributed quotes.
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.
- Abraham Lincoln
Safety
The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury.
Safety seems an almost ridiculous concept these days, and yet it's a concept that appears over and over in the stories and diaries that course through this site. "Are we safer now than we were then?"
What is safety for us? This one finds it in the arms of love, while the other is only safe behind a tall brick wall... a throng of bodyguards... the letter of law. This one finds it in the solace of nature, while the other is shielded by their big-screen television... the SUV... the 40th-floor penthouse. This one is unassailable while within hope itself, the other in the heft of a gun... the cry of the enemy... the dense fog of righteousness.
As a country, we appear to be coming apart at the seams. At this crucial moment in the history of our nation, our protectors sometimes seem to be our biggest threat, hurtling down a path of destruction and rejecting our right to do anything about it. Did the founding fathers have the forethought to protect us against this unique threat? Only time will tell.
I like to think that there is safety in the Constitution of these United States. I like to think that there is safety in Democracy. I like to think that sanity will prevail. I like to think that, in spite of 9/11, up will always be up, down will always be down, and the day will come when people remember an important tenet of survival:
Safety in numbers.
Get Out The Vote
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
- H.L. Mencken