Heed Lincoln and Eisenhower
Consider the following quote: “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated and the Republic is destroyed.”
Was it one of the nearly two dozen Republicans or Democrats running for president in 2016? Not a chance, except for long shot Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. But no, it wasn’t Bernie.
It was Republican President Abraham Lincoln in a Nov. 21, 1864 letter to a friend in the military. Nearly 100 years later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower echoed President Lincoln when he warned us of the military-industrial complex.
Will voters listen to the ghosts of presidents Lincoln and Eisenhower warning of corruption in high places when they pick a new president in 2016?
Lloyd Carter, Clovis
This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 7:04 AM with the headline "Heed Lincoln and Eisenhower."