Posted by Rich on July 07, 2000 at 11:42:29:
In Reply to: Voice of a Sinner posted by NightSky on July 07, 2000 at 11:26:28:
: There is more to history than battle and blood. Since most recorded history has been kept by men, the battles and blood tend to take the forefront, but in truth, our American history is much deeper and richer than our low points (wars) would have us believe. Thomas Jefferson did not carry a gun in the Revolutionary War, he had greater things to do, history making tasks that shaped our country far more than any battle or general ever could. To see American history as one battle after another is to limit oneself to those times when men could no longer find control of their destiny except through violence.
What you say is true, NightSky ... However, it very often comes down to war. The Declaration of Independence meant little without Yorktown; the Gettysburg Address was mere words till Appomattox; all the Indian "policy" in the world was more or less useless until the matter was settled in other ways. War, for better or for worse, has been the dominating force behind mankind's course through history. It is what usually settles matters ... History is complex & intertwined, but if you take out warfare, little happens ... regretably ...