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included them and showed largesse to them only AFTER they had surrendered at the end of the Civil War. I would also like to remind Obama that, as one who lived in the South in the late 1950s and part of the early 1960s, Southerners continued to fight the Civil War in their hearts and minds through perhaps the last election. And even now, many southerners are still resisting the outcome of the Civil War in the deepest recesses of their souls.
If Obama is trying to persuade progressives that somehow Lincoln's conduct following the Civil War should inspire us progressives to forgive and forget the crimes of the Bush government and just focus on rejuvenating our economy, he is making a big mistake. We can forgive only where there is repentance. Surrender is probably not enough, but it is a step on the path toward repentance.
The Bush administration committed terrible crimes. Just today documents were revealed to us that disclose that at least two prisoners died as a result of the torture that Bush and his friends permitted. We shall never know whether the truth about what those prisoners had or had not done. We shall never have reliable testimony from them. So, not only were the prisoners deprived of their lives, but we, the American people, were deprived of justice meted out after due process and the presentation of evidence.
The list of crimes goes on. Thus far, you may argue that the crimes of the Bush administration are not as horrible as the slaughter of the Civil War. But, let's remember, the Civil War was fought because wrongs were ignored when they first happened. We still have time to prevent a recurrence of the wrongful conduct of the Bush administration. We should not ignore the fact that the heavyhandedness of the Bush administration, if not punished, will stand as an example to future administrations.
Slavery was allowed to stand. In the interest of nation building, it was tolerated by Americans who knew better. We cannot allow the crimes of the Bush administration to stand, unaddressed.
Yes, forgive and forget but not crimes of the Bush administration.
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