History and politics

An unfortunate development in our culture has been a growing tendency to remember nothing older than yesterday. Everyone's promised fifteen minutes of fame has turned into fifteen seconds. The media has been bleating for a long time about the divided and vitriolic nature of the nation's politics lately, but it really is our natural state. But we forget easily, and here's why (in this case): From the Civil War through the Depression, the Republicans were basically in charge. Then from the Depression until maybe 1980 the Democrats were pretty much in charge. During both periods the minority party rumbled every now and then, but overall it recognized its lot in life and behaved itself. But since Ronald Reagan's election things have been much more competitive, which by definition has caused a lot more debate. This is not a bad thing. As Patrick Beard is fond of saying, "Controversy is only dreaded by the advocates of error" (Benjamin Rush). If you think you're right about something and are not afraid of defending it, then debate is a wonderful opportunity. So, for you history buffs out there, we find ourselves back in the 1800-1860 period, when political parties were about even and had to scrap for every vote. It was a time of lively and contentious debate. We live in a battlefield of ideas, and the worst thing that could happen would be for partisans to give up their ideas and strive for the inoffensive middle. The last time that happened it led to Civil War.