Letters to the Editor
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Lincoln and our better angels
President Lincoln did attempt to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus as was his right in the Constitution. The Supreme Court decreed that as long as the courts were open and operational, there was no cause to suspend Habeas Corpus and, thereby, set specific limits on when the president could use this constitutional power.
In the history of America, we have seldom lived up to the ideals expressed in our constitution. Americans have often allowed arrogance, passion or hatred of others cause us to act against our better natures. Andrew Jackson famously said of the Cherokee lands decree that "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." This man, immortalized on the American 20 dollar bill and in Americana in general, violated his oath of office. He ignored the constitution because he and his cronies wanted the Cherokee land and didn't consider the most westernized tribe of natives human.
Somehow, I see some corollaries with our current occupant of the office.
However, I do see signs of hope. People like Michael Ratner allow me to believe that we can approach the ideals our founders set forth. I don't believe in heroes, except where people see wrong and move heaven and earth to fix it. While I am a deist, it heartens me when I hear of a church group getting a group together to help in the reconstruction in Louisiana. If there is a God, it exists in the hearts of those who look beyond our differences and do right because it is what's right.