You know by understanding ourselves, and as Pam says it "our fustrations", and David says, our "letting off steam" in our present day conversations, I can more closely identify with my southern forefathers in 1860. How fustrating it must have been to them to see their world crumble, and that building up of "Steam" so to speak.

I can understand better how they must have felt to be backed against a wall to where they felt as if there was no other choices to preserve their idea of a national government but to seceed and reform that government under another name.

Yes, I can see why, for the most part, this discussion should stay focused and on topic. But there is a present day application of our primary topic as we do seem to be repeating the same mistakes as our government did in 1860. That is why it is so easy for our conversation to slip from 1860 to 2010, and even to intertwine themselves one within the other.

We tread in dangerous times in this country today. I hope by undertsanding the past and pointing out the simularities that we have with our ancestors that we can circumvent the same mistakes that lead this country down the path of War in 1860. But I fear that too few people are listening or even care.