I have heard these arguments forever.
1) Lincoln did not start the war. That is untrue on ever level. The South started seceding months before his inauguration and fire the first shots on U.S. territory (spare me the Ft Sumter was SC territory).
2) It was not 1 million dead. It was 600,000.
3) A standard argument from neo-Confeds is that “you must not have read the right books if you believe ____). Its a silly argument. I do not have to read Nazi or Communist or, if you prefer, British propaganda to understand the truth of WWII, the Cold war and the Revolution.
I am American. This country has done more good for the world than any other. I do not support the Balkinization of America then or now.
Yes. In fact the fact that they continue to be debated is probably some indication that your simplistic view is not that accurate. You don't hear any debate on whether the Nazi's had a legitimate cause, or the Soviets, to use two of your examples.
1) Lincoln did not start the war. That is untrue on ever level. The South started seceding months before his inauguration
Again, my main point is that secession is not war, rather obviously. It is a (in my opinion nad the opinion of many other historians, including many sympathetic to the Union side) a political option that was fully legal.
and fire the first shots on U.S. territory (spare me the Ft Sumter was SC territory).
Many wars start due to someone's hand being forced. We fired the first shot in the Iraq War, that doesn't make us the aggressor. Are you an officer? I would expect you to understand these things?
2) It was not 1 million dead. It was 600,000.600,000 soldiers, a large but not well documented number of civilians died as well. I think 1 million is a reasonable estimate, but even if we only count military deaths it was a terrible toll. Was there no other way to resolve these isssues?
3) A standard argument from neo-Confeds is that “you must not have read the right books if you believe ____).
It's not a silly argument. If you want to be really educated you need to read both sides of contentious issues. You need to read primary source documents. Reading Nazi and Communist propganda is enlightening, but it doesn't lead one to have more sympathy with their cause. Perhaps you are not really interested in history?