The myth of 'Honest Abe' ! How a beloved President is misbranded and mismarketed by history books.

“My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people. There is a physical difference between the white and black races, which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality" (A. Lincoln, 1858-1862). (http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3487)

Many who read this quote may find it shocking. As children we were taught that President Lincoln was motivated by morality to abolish slavery and sign the 13th , 14th, and 15th Amendments into law. However, those who subscribe to critical race theory (CRT) would likely not be shocked at all by reading the aforementioned quote. As Derrick Bell (who recently passed) clarifies, “We [people of color] rise and fall less as a result of our efforts than in response to the needs of a white society…. With that said, critical race theorists (click for more info on CRT) argue that all racial advancements by and for people of color in this country have been allowed or implemented only because it also benefited the white privileged elite in some way which is referred to as Bell’s Interest Convergence Theory (click for more info on ICT). The intent of CRT is that people of color have different experiences with oppression and can communicate to their White counterparts situations that they are unlikely to know or identify with.

I understand that this may be a difficult subject to digest as we have been conditioned to see President Lincoln as a savior when in fact his motivation was stability and not equality.  We must be cognizant of how issues are branded and promoted, because it is usually intentional and done to conceal and lessen the actual impact on subordinated people.  Conservatives, tea-partiers, and right wing are masters of this.  They can promote an agenda/issue/platform that has no tangible positive impact on the majority of their base constituency.  Yet they package it, promote it and sell it with a skill that rivals the best illusionist. 

Familia, we must open our eyes and reveal the "wizard" behind the curtain and expose the intent of this "return to traditional America values" movement.  An intent that has everything to do with white privileged and a removal of President of color.  One who, by simple pigmentation does not fit the definition of "traditional American values".

Robert