A Question
When I first created this blog at Blogger.com, the interface required a "description" of the blog when you created the title, and it placed that description underneath it as a subtitle when it assembled the template. Thinking about the original Black Republican, and what he said about conservatism, it occurred to me that while a party's position on selective issues will change somewhat through time, the members of the party should believe in certain core principles regardless of ebb and flow of those ancillary issues. For instance, the original Republican Party had a platform that was notoriously anti-Catholic - a position which would exclude yours truly from the ranks of the party if it were retained today. Thankfully, over time, the Party has reasoned that this position is not consistant with its other principles.
Some people who have read The Black Republican have been critical of the subtitle I eventually created, because it mentions this word 'principles': "A defense of the principles upon which the Republican Party was founded." It seemed to me at the time that certain principles are - as the great Virginian once said about Truths - "self-evident". But perhaps people today need a bit of a reminder. A quick scan of Lincoln's famous speeches (and a line or two borrowed from that Virginian) brings to mind a few:
One nation under GodBut perhaps the most pliable - and dangerous - of all is:
Government (should be) of the people, by the people, and for the people
All men are created equal
Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness
Each State has the right to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment (under the Constitution)
Malice toward none
Charity for all
A just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations
Firmness in the right as God gives us to see the rightI'm reading Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln right now, trying to gain a little more insight into the mind of man in his time. But I don't doubt that I'm going to find his core principles will endure the test of time.
Enduring the test of time.
Hence comes my question: to clarify for those who cannot comprehend the implication, should I change our subtitle to read "...those enduring principles..."?
Comments
Don't all answer at once! :-) Is the gesture too much of a concession for "the choir" and too superficial for the opposition that it's unnecessary?
Posted by: Chris | March 20, 2004 04:45 AM
I say leave it as is. It is our responsibility to demonstrate that principles do endure.
Posted by: Rick Jones | March 22, 2004 08:09 AM
Elegantly stated, Rick. I'll leave it alone. Thanks.
Posted by: Chris | March 24, 2004 08:38 AM