Editor,

I take umbrage to Mr. Niedzialkowski’s suggestion (Nov. 1 letter to the editor) that I am a revisionist and that my portrayal of Honest Abe had not been accurate. If Democrats would spend a little more time reading and understanding that history is not what a quick synopsis portrays then they would know that after being elected and taking office Lincoln was devoted to preserving the Union. He believed the slavery issue could be worked out in Congress and that it was not worth going to war; he stated that if it meant not freeing one slave to save the Union, he would do it. Frederick Douglas was disappointed with Lincoln on first meeting with him. That he was not totally gung-ho for emancipation upset Douglas. That Lincoln would not grant emancipation until late in the war, then only in areas that were in rebellion indicates both the times and attitudes prevalent in the mid 1800s.

Democrats in 1860 hated Lincoln for much the same reason Democrats today hate Trump. They fear what he is capable of doing. Pointing out the flaws in their ideology, and that he may correct their bad policies. Slavery in the South was much like climate change is today. An entire industry is based on making it work no matter the reality. To put lipstick on the pig of slavery is never the goal of Republicans, but recent liberal interpretations of history defames the lives of those who have died for the country.

It is Democrats who project their own actions on Republicans, conservatives and independent thinkers. They claim we are fascists while instituting fascist programs, they blame Republicans for shutting down the government, when they won’t vote for a simple agreement to pass a non-partisan measure that would keep food on the table for 40 million people. They side with law breakers over law enforcers and with terrorists over Israeli’s defending their country. They hate successful people who provide jobs and goods for the world. The civil war they want is against freedom and for some kind of socialist utopia that never exists.

Perhaps I should follow the advice from my favorite bumper sticker: Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig! Oh well, I tried.

Fred Wilferth

Coupeville