Yes, I can deny that Lincoln was prophetic.
Perpetuation of ignorance and stupidity is no justification for public policy. There will never be any justification to discriminate against anyone on account of what color they are.
Many Americans may look at the problems in Northern Ireland and just scratch their head. Some may be bumfuzzled about how they even tell each other apart.
And other folks around the world look at us and scratch their heads, wondering what our problem is.
The problem is not the presence of the Black race, or any other race. The problem is the presence of ignorance and prejudice. The solution is not deporting the Black race, but curing the case of recto-cranial inversion.
Yes, I can deny that Lincoln was prophetic.
Since Lincoln himself said he didn't control events, but had been controlled by them, that wouldn't be too hard for you to maintain.
But: The Conkling letter was written in June, 1863.
Byron De La Beckwith shot Medgar Evers in the back in June, 1963.
I'd say that President Lincoln -could- lay claim that blacks and whites, surely so far as he could see, couldn't live together peaceably in this country.
Walt
Agreed. However, ignorance and prejudice do not disappear because you think that is what they are.
The Serbs and Croats, for instance, speak the same language, although they use different scripts for writing it. Nobody else in the world can really tell them apart, and I would assume they sometimes have trouble themselves. But that hasn't stopped them from engaging in enthusiastic tribal warfare for centuries.
When I said Lincoln was prophetic, it was with regard to his concern that the continued presence of the black race in America would lead to extended conflict. Are you trying to say that he was wrong about that? If so, you will have to deny much of the history of the last 1.5 centuries.
Perpetuation of ignorance and stupidity is no justification for public policy. There will never be any justification to discriminate against anyone on account of what color they are.
Absolutely. However, public policy based on the assumption that ignorance and stupidity will disappear because they should is even dumber.
Look at the history of black and white relations in America over the last 40 years. From what I can see, every decrease in white racism has been matched by an equal and opposite increase in black racism.