August 08, 2005

Lincoln: Hypocrite or Statesman? an essay by Dinesh D'Souza from the April 2005 edition of American History magazine.
posted by At Swim Two Birds 19 years ago
  • Dinesh D'Souza: Asshole or Intellectual Whore?
  • Saw this article on linkfilter last week which is quite related. Haven't read the poster's article all the way through yet, but the more I learn about Lincoln, from many sources, the less I admire him. He's certainly had a fantastic press corps working for him all these years!
  • So we're to judge presidents on their morals again? I thought all that went out of vogue some years back...? I'm kidding! kiiiiiiddddding! Put down that pitchfork. Seriously: it should read hypocrite AND statesman. He was a politician. Only the ignorant imagine that he was some sort of demigod in a stovepipe hat. This does not, however, detract from the importance of his accomplishments.
  • He was a man not unaffected by the prevailing racial views and prejudices of his time, occupying the highest office of a divided and (as far as he knew) moribund democracy, who still managed (thanks to both pragmatism and personal moral conviction) to do the Right Thing. Not a demigod. Not perfect. But still worthy of praise.
  • You guys might want to RTFA before smashing ol' Dinesh. (Wendell) He's laying out the arguments used by those attacking Lincoln's legacy, and then refutes them. I mean, just take a look at his conclusion: "In my view, Lincoln was the true “philosophical statesman,” one who was truly good and truly wise. Standing in front of his critics, Lincoln is a colossus, and all of the Lilliputian arrows hurled at him bounce harmlessly to the ground."
  • And Mary Todd was wacky as a crooked-tailed cat. Loved her some shoppin' too.
  • Monkeyfilter: some sort of demigod in a stovepipe hat Monkeyfilter: wacky as a crooked-tailed cat
  • ...that actually seems to be quite a good article. Much better than I expected from the title.
  • Dinesh can be right for once and still be either an asshole or an intellectual whore or, more likely, both.
  • But in recent years powerful movements have gathered, on both the political right and the left, to condemn Lincoln as a flawed and even wicked man. I think Dinesh is being generous in what he calls a "powerful movement."