Slavery.
It was dressed up as a states' rights issue, sovereignty issue, racial issue, immigration issue, industrial issue- even a medical issue. But it wasn't any of those things.
It was an entitlement issue.
A financially impossible lifestyle had been maintained beyond its normal life expectancy, and the country was bleeding to death as a result- first figuratively, then literally. The slavery issue distorted every other issue.
The slavery issue of the 21st Century is Entitlements.
No one wants to touch them or talk about them, in the same way no one wanted to talk about slavery, or do anything about it. Both slavery and entitlements create the need for special dispensations. And disgracefully, Democrats are on the wrong side of both issues. Oh the merciless cycles of history, and how little we learn.
