A Nation Divided Cannot Stand

In 1858, Senatorial nominee Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at the Illinois Republican State Convention which has come to been known as "Lincoln's House Divided Speech." Lincoln took the phrase from the book of Matthew 12:25 "And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:

Speaking of slavery in the states, Lincolns point was that the government could not endure being half slave and half free. Lincoln, using a shorter version of the scripture said, " A house divided against itself cannot stand." Of course the issue then was slavery and the tendancy by the Democratic candidate Stephen Douglas to nationalize slavery. Doesn't this sound somewhat like the things we deal with today? If slavery was the subject dividing the nation in 1858, what are we facing in 2005 that divides us?

With the recent election, we have many issues on which our country is divided. War, abortion, gay-marriage, just to name three. These three issues not only divide our country, they cause hatred among those on opposite sides of the issues. Who is for war? No one should be for war, but the reason for the war is for freedom from tyranny as President Bush has said. Most who protest the war say it is for the money. For the oil. Stop for one moment and think about that reasoning. Why have we spent 80 Billion dollars and the President is asking for another 80 Billion if the underlying reason is for the money? I don't know about you but 160 Billion dollars is a good chunk of change for just about anyone. So I don't really think that its about the money.

One line the President gave during his inauguration speech is that we are fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here (at home). Abortion is another very sore topic with millions across the nation. With the declining health of the Chief Justice William Rehnquist , some are looking for an open position on the Supreme Court Bench during the second Bush term. Those who are for abortion are afraid that Roe v. Wade will be overturned in the next 10 years, and with the recent anniversary last week of the historic court case, the subject has really been on everyones mind. The other issue that made it into the election last fall and even as far as being on the ballot of some states is the gay-marriage issue. Although it was defeated on the ballots, the issue is still a hot topic and is sure to continue to divide our nation. The parties are so divided right now that a perfect nominee for Secratary of State cannot get confirmed due to nothing more that "bad feelings" of the losing party.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand" Lincoln said. With the increasing tension among politicians(look at how Sen. Barbara Boxer treated Dr. Rice during Senate confirmation hearings) and increasing tension among voters over such issues, something must give. Lincoln said it had to be all or nothing, and when it comes to our divided nation, we cannot survive if there is a continued fight over abortion and gay marriage. A Nation Divided cannot remain a leading World Power. The United States must work to fix what is wrong at home and not ignore them.