As I reflect on the book, "Team of Rivals", mentioned in an earlier post, I am amazed that even with the War between the States consuming vast resources, President Lincoln, his cabinet and the Congress managed to do so many other things.
They funded land-grant colleges, bringing the possibility of higher education to more and more people. The introduced the income tax, a far more equitable method of raising funds for the governemnt "of the people", and not just "of the property owners". They partied. Wow! The social whirl of Washington, D.C., almost never let up.
They restored and added to the capital building. They managed waterways and railways and extended the telegraph lines of communication. In other words, they kept growing the nation!
Lincoln was largely able to do this because he chose to work with others, to think, to embrace compassion and to listen to the real nation-builders. The real nation-builders were the workers, the businessmen, but farmers, and generally what we know to be "the ordinary folks".
Fast forward to 2014. We have a Congress who contains members who delight when they thwart nation building, and rejoice when nothing gets done. It makes me want to elect doers and not whiners, but then that's just me.
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