Morning Roundup: Happy Birthday, President Lincoln

Featuring Jen Rubin and Olivia Julianna, each addressing our stormy present moment.

In December of 1862, Abraham Lincoln—whose birthday we honor today—delivered his annual message to Congress, stating:

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

Lincoln was a legend and was also a quirky, unpredictable man (whose passions included wrestling, poetry, and cats). He often used humor to cope with the darkest of moments. We don’t know how he might view our current political landscape, though it’s safe to assume he would be devastated by the wreckage of his supposed party—which has abandoned its morality, courage, and even its observance for our rule of law.

However, as he told a reporter in 1861:

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

We at The Contrarian will continue doing our best to rise with the occasion and deliver the truth. We’re depending on you to stay engaged and to grasp hold of hope wherever you can find it.

---

“The great point is to bring them the real facts.”

Jen Rubin addresses the need to remain clear-eyed about our current state of affairs, and how it will affect our global allies and erode the influence the United States once held.

---

“As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”

Olivia Julianna writes on the baffling methods Democrats have been using to reclaim and hold onto our Republic:

---