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From: tedrick@ernie.Berkeley.EDU (Tom Tedrick)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.misc,net.rumor
Subject: Re: A. LINCOLN A MAN SO MISUNDERSTOOD>
Message-ID: <13847@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Sat, 17-May-86 17:01:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.13847
Posted: Sat May 17 17:01:36 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 19-May-86 04:59:11 EDT
References: <135@petrus.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: tedrick@ernie.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Tom Tedrick)
Distribution: net
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Lines: 27
Keywords: Lincoln as villain
Xref: watmath net.politics:16108 net.misc:9641 net.rumor:2402
Summary: The Devil's Advocate has his say

>I just read in a posting discusing the presidents
>and rating them from 1 to 10.            
>
>           Lincoln    10     
>
>Lincoln is highly over rated, he only freed the slaves!!!!

OK, the Devil's advocate will now speak.

I give Lincoln a -10 (thats NEGATIVE 10).

Why? He was a naive idealist in the "tradition" of Wilson
and Carter. These unrealistic idealists have done more harm than
the most venal and corrupt politicians I can think of.



What did Lincoln do? He started the USA down the road to
centralized tyranny by destroying states rights. His politics
resulted in millions of casualties and utter destruction of
the South. So he freed the slaves. They would have been freed
anyway after a short period of time. And we still don't have justice
for blacks more than 100 years later. Just a more subtle form
of exploitation. To hell with moralists who want to take power
for themselves so they can impose their morality on the rest
of us. Up with the dignity of the individual, down with the
worship of the state.