(Abraham Lincoln)
The French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville described America as enduring a “quadrennial crisis” every four years as it held its presidential elections. The 1860 election was an exception because the artificial passions that were easily stoked reached unheard of levels. de Tocqueville remarked that “a self-absorbed president, catering to the ‘worst caprices’ of his supporters, could easily distract their attention from plodding matters of governance, and whip their enthusiasm into a frenzy, especially if he divided his supporters and his critics into hostile camps.” He spoke of “feverish obsessions” and warned “the potential for lasting damage was always lurking.” As the ominous warnings came to fruition in the Civil War in 1861, today we stand on another ominous precipice as the 2020 election approaches. de Tocqueville’s view of America is as plausible today as it was in the 19th century as even a pandemic and how to…
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Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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