[ericd]

Right now I'm reading "The Rise of American Democracy - Jefferson to Lincoln" by Sean Wilentz. The book's focus is on the politics of the time.

What is fascinating to me is that everything happening today has an event/movement that took place during the time frame covered in this book. The ebb and flow of civil liberties, military intervention, religious awakening, political deals, rationalizations for government action (slavery then and take your pick for now)...

There really appears to be nothing new. It is just dressed up differently. What puzzles me is that those pulling the "wool over the publics eyes" don't realize /care that sometime in the future (50 years or more) they will be "found out" by historians with no vested interest in their findings.