“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.” - Abraham Lincoln
“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.”
All quite true. However, it seems pretty clear that at minimum a very large minority and quite possibly on many issues a majority of “the people” are in favor of these usurpations.
So “the people” is not a unified group opposed to the government. Unfortunately.
Any revolt against this government will be an ideological civil war, not a regional one, and will be very nasty. See Spanish Civil War for a start on what it would be like.
The people are the government. The soldier in the field, the policeman on the beat, the government employee in his office, are all part of the people.
Only if we willingly turn on ourselves do we violate the constitution. Only if we allow corrupt politicians to divide us rather than unite us will we self destruct.
No constitution will not work unless we have moral citizens electing moral leaders. An American Idol mentality selecting the sexiest candidate is bound for disaster.
The problem is not the constitution or the government, it is the people doing the choosing.
Talk about the ultimate lip-service of a politician!
So basically, Lincoln stood by the rights of those who would dismember or overthrow or simply throw-off the shackles of their old government - until they do it to him!?!?!
This Lincoln quote makes Romney look “principled!”