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Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth,
upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal".
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long
endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We come
to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those
who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all
propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate --
we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground -- The
brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed
it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will
little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can
never forget what they did here. It is rather for us, the living,
we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us --
that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that
cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion
-- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died
in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom,
and that government of the people by the people for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.
- Abraham Lincoln
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It's been thirteen years shy of a century since we vowed to
depart England, rather than endure their loath degradation. And
now notice what a fucking mess we're in! The best blood of America
is now being lost. Where? All over the country on these idiotic
damned battlefields. See how we've got brothers killing each
other because the one lives on one side of a fool line and the
other happens to reside on the other side. People are going to
tell you that the whole point of all this alarming violence is
the freeing of the Negro. To that I have always said: "Bullshit!"
If we could alienate dear old England, why shouldn't the South
have that privilege, with regard to severing their political
connection to the North. So now hear this: We are determined
to fight hard over the matter of Federal power versus the right
we deserve, to quit our connection with the damned-fool arrogant
bunch of decadent flag waving central government advocates who
ever want to dominate all parts of America, depriving the people
of their hard-won and hard-earned freedom. We are not advocating
anarchy. Rather we mean to champion a treaty and the declaration
of peace. We halt when made, but brave war and death rather than
admit defeat and retreat apathetically.
- Robert E. Lee
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