Carl Schurz - 1899, Anti-imperialism conference

"our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be put right."

If only we had thinkers like him today. He and his wife were strong supporters of universal sufferage (in the slightly older and more sane Republican Party) and his wife started the first kindergarten in America. As the secretary of the interior, he was the first to fix the "burro" of Indian Affairs. Probably the last honest secretary in that regard.

It is interesting to read his works, though. He fought against imperialism within the US. He understood that a concentration of power in the executive was dangerous and potentially deadly for our democracy. It also teaches us that Bush is not the first to be an imperial leader. Probably not the last either. But it also teaches us that each and every one of us must stand up to the outrages caused in the name of "security", to the attacks on our privacy and freedoms in the name of "democracy" and to the growing power of the NSA and others. If we do not, 200 yrs of beautiful, and often bloody, sweaty and every tough history will find itself in the trash bin.