2009-10-16 Remembering the roots of a real Civil War

2009-10-16 Steven Lubet Salon \lessons from history\US Civil War\American cultural polarization\John Brown http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/10/16/john_brown/index.html Remembering the roots of a real Civil War Remembering the roots of a real Civil War  American political discourse has gotten increasingly nasty over the past 10 months, with brutal rhetoric spilling from talk radio to town hall meetings to the very halls of Congress. When anti-government protesters openly carry loaded weapons at rallies and Texas Gov. Rick Perry hints at the possibility of secession, you might wonder whether the nation is actually at the brink of civil war over the unlikely issue of healthcare reform. Sadly, the commentators and politicians who exploit such threats of violence and revolution seem to have forgotten what the real Civil War was about, and what it was like. Now would be a good time to start remembering, because, as it happens, the first pitched battle of our bloodiest war began exactly 150 years ago today.

&ldquo;While right-wingers posture about secession and armed resistance, let's recall how our actual Civil War began.&rdquo;   