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Seems silly to still be thanking them for emancipation and the 13th amendment.

I only harken back to this because it truly is a significant starting point to things of today. As you stated, "Not that the Pub platform changed, but we got the guys who everyone thinks of as racists and they got the guys who constantly play the race card." The truth has NOTHING to do with the party lines of today - at all!

You mention two very good points that further punctuate my disbelief to the STUPIDITY in America: the 1860's and the Civil Rights Act.

I know this is a point of contention, even here in Freeper land, but the south was fighting for state's rights - what they thought and understood was the right to disband a union that was no longer supporting their rights as a whole - remember, not even 100 years early, these very men fought to through off the shackles of a government that no longer supported or defended them. Let's be honest that the main issue the POLITICAL class was fighting for was the economic fortunes in slavery, but the main reason the general populace was fighting for was the right to self-regulate without Federal intervention. But there were many other, significant issues which caused the people to succeed such as lack of economic support, lack of military support, excessive tariffs, etc...; the south thought that they were making a reasoned stand to limit Federalism and to control their own destiny. Nuanced as that is, if properly taught, Americans could understand the fight, instead it has been sold that the south was mean, they all hated blacks and they wanted to destroy the Union - this is a very broad brush that misses many important facts in its swath!

And Goldwater's resistance to the Civil Right's Act was because he felt that the Act was tantamount to Federal laws regulating morality and that the law, as written, would eliminate the right to free association - both proven and oft exploited unintended consequence. IMHO, today, Goldwater's positions, seem to be more aligned with Libertarians - not that there is anything wrong with that. I will take a Libertarian over anything close to the Democrats and over most of the modern GOP-e. Anyway, my point is that instead of teaching and learning about these nuances and explaining their differences, the actual differences and nuances are quickly, and purposefully, passed over as simply being unimportant or even worse, "not the point." They further nuance the nuances by adding a layer of BS on top of the issues which could and should be discussed.

I agree that neither party of today can honestly hold a candle as a fiscal-beacon. This can be proven by the way both the Dems and the GOP-e are denigrating both Conservatives and TEA Party-types who are actually attempting to right our fiscal ship! But again, as you stated, the Dems are all about turning on the Federal money spigot, the more the better and they always have been. Whereas the Reps have never abdicated for turning the spigot on FULL BLAST! Minor, yet important nuances if one wants to make actual, educated votes and decisions in their lives.

The above is why I used the word STUPID and not IGNORANT to describe America. The truth and knowledge are there for those with an inkling of will to scratch the surface.