Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 | 2 a.m.
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At Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln posed that the Civil War was a test of whether our nation, “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” or any nation “so conceived and so dedicated,” could long endure. We have for over 150 years. “Endured” seems to be the correct term since it has been a rocky road.
Some of our internal issues, while perhaps not as severe as the worst faced by Lincoln, are related and are evolutionary in nature. Racial issues remain. We have economic issues including a widening gap between the rich and the poor, with an increasingly stressed middle class. We have a huge and growing national debt. We have an aging population, prompting increasing needs for long-term care. And we have a national drug problem.
External issues have arisen as our prominence in world affairs has grown. We have difficulties in developing coherent and consistent foreign policies for a complex world. We seem to be irritating allies and confusing everyone.
Problems are too often addressed using a “meat cleaver” approach rather than a “scalpel” approach.
By and large, Americans are hardworking, reasonable and good-natured. They respond well, with a suitable amount of grumbling and complaining, to good leadership and governance.
With proper policy guidance, we have the resources to lay the groundwork for addressing and resolving major issues. Priorities must be set but if the proper bipartisan groundwork has been laid, each issue will be easier to resolve.
