Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

The 1840s and Today

I can’t agree with all of the particular comparisons outlined in this compelling and interesting piece by Kurt Andersen in Time, but I defy you to read it and not find much of it on point. He writes that "history really does rhyme, if not repeat itself." And that may be true. But while Andersen seems to hint at some possible absolution in this (comparing the Bowery Boys of their day to today’s Hip Hop thugs--as if to say we’re none the worse for them), I wonder at how he seems to forget that the 1840s led to the 1850s. And we all know how the 1850s ended. I certainly hope that what we’re living through now won’t "rhyme" with those days--let alone repeat them.

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