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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/7/2009
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Location: Inside Farlex computers
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 All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 11/20/2009
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Location: Arizona's high deserts
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There was a wise man. Of couse he could never get elected in the modern world, but his was a leadership such as we could sure use again!
fair winds and following seas
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 10/6/2009
Posts: 149
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Location: United States
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sandraleesmith46 wrote: There was a wise man. Of couse he could never get elected in the modern world, but his was a leadership such as we could sure use again! For sure. Each succeeding generation appears to accuse the previous one of being more conservative, more prudish than itself, and each generation loosens some of the previous "thou shall not's..." untill there are few if any left. Sort of like the unwinding of a republic because of its inward excesses. Like the unwinding of the Roman Empire long time ago? The more conservative circumspect restrictive stuff that Lincoln would put into legislation then could never fly today. Peace, wealth and prosperity are great, but they are often accompanied by much "excesses", "debauchery", and orgies like Rome at its peak. Even the two words I put in quotes are rarely used any more because they might be considered old fashioned, antiquated or prudish. The third one is in vogue.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 3/18/2009
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And yet we just elected a quiet thoughtful man from Illinois - time will tell.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 11/20/2009
Posts: 696
Points: 2,132
Location: Arizona's high deserts
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ardii wrote:sandraleesmith46 wrote: There was a wise man. Of couse he could never get elected in the modern world, but his was a leadership such as we could sure use again! For sure. Each succeeding generation appears to accuse the previous one of being more conservative, more prudish than itself, and each generation loosens some of the previous "thou shall not's..." untill there are few if any left. Sort of like the unwinding of a republic because of its inward excesses. Like the unwinding of the Roman Empire long time ago? The more conservative circumspect restrictive stuff that Lincoln would put into legislation then could never fly today. Peace, wealth and prosperity are great, but they are often accompanied by much "excesses", "debauchery", and orgies like Rome at its peak. Even the two words I put in quotes are rarely used any more because they might be considered old fashioned, antiquated or prudish. The third one is in vogue. Some "thou shalt nots" do need loosened, not quite as many as have been in this nation. The analogy to the Roman Empire's last years is one I use often, because it fits so very well. The US has, by and large, lost her moral compass, and ethics are such an endangered species, as to be nearly extinct as well. The so-called "situational ethics" not being ethics at all, and what many are practicing now, in the place of ethics, don't count. This is my homeland and I honestly don't recognize it, sometimes. There was a time when I thought the 60's were "messed up", but lately, they seem almost tame.
fair winds and following seas
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 10/6/2009
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Location: United States
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Re: sandraleesmith46...
That too, some of the "thou shall nots.." that were/are slipped into law in the wee hours of the night. Ethics are endangered in times of peace and prosperity. The credit default swaps and loosening of the mortgage loan requirements in the last few years and the eventual financial collapse were/are inspired by our prosperity. Wealth has a degenerating effect. And it corrupts the system from inside out. Until it becomes so weak that it tempts some outside power to threaten its existence.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 6/12/2009
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Location: Lebanon
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Like him, the thistle should be picked and put the flower. In thought and mind, I truly believe to put it there. The way to change is to realize that not all people are made equal. Stereotyping and generalization to people. That is where we are different, or the same. Only, the Thistle where the flower grows in mind is the same geographically. My dead and the cemetery they are in could be a place always to meet them on a Sunday. Abraham was shot, and people's pockets were were Malcolm was killed. Ability and honesty, investment and reinvestment and what is free? Always to ask yourself...
Cynthia Bernadette Sha'aouni
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 10/6/2009
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Location: United States
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This quote of Lincoln may be one of his more poetic, written in a gentler time when he did not have to deal with war. It's a gem. One capable of idealism. We got side tracked into commenting on his greatness and the succeeding decline of nations when they achieve wealth, power and prosperity, because they seem destined to do so.
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Rank: Newbie
Joined: 12/13/2009
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Could someone please explain this quote a little bit more to me?
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Rank: Newbie
Joined: 12/13/2009
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Location: United States
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kelseylc wrote:Could someone please explain this quote a little bit more to me? Sorry, I'm not as intelligent as most of the people who have already commented.
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 11/20/2009
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Location: Arizona's high deserts
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kelseylc wrote:kelseylc wrote:Could someone please explain this quote a little bit more to me? Sorry, I'm not as intelligent as most of the people who have already commented. To me this means that Lincoln endeavored to root out "weed" ideas in the minds of those he encountered in life and plant in their places more healthy "flower" notions instead. For example if you encounter someone who's a strong racist, and you attempt to replace that with tolerance in the person for others; the racist ideas being the thistle, and tolerance the flower. Others may understand it differently.
fair winds and following seas
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Rank: Advanced Member
Joined: 12/4/2009
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Location: Australia
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Obama is of the same ilk. It will take time of course but let's hope it's not too late for him to undo all the recent harm.
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