Would Lincoln be Green?

by Curtis Bolton

The world is constantly changing. Sometimes the change is a slow as the wearing down of mountains over millions of years. Sometimes it’s as fast and destructive as an earthquake. Constant change is true in human affairs, as well. There was a time after the US Civil War when the Democratic Party was concentrated in the Deep South. It, of course, stood against the principles of a relatively new political party led by Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party. In his hands the Republican Party’s beliefs could be summarized in those immortal words of , “Government of the people, by the people, for the people.” He was assassinated for his belief that the people included all people.

Lincoln himself changed over his lifetime. Lincoln started his political life as a member of the Whig Party. Numerous times he resisted the overtures of the Republican Party. But eventually he made the decision to switch parties. So to answer my question honestly, I don’t know that Lincoln would join the Green Party. But I do believe it is a possibility because the Republican Party has become the Party of Trump. There is no doubt in my mind about whether he would leave today’s Republican Party. He believed too strongly in rule by the people, not by the rich.

I believe that Lincoln’s values can be properly called progressive. Unlike the Democratic Party, which is a corporate run party with a progressive wing. The Green Party is a progressive party, period. Lincoln famously believed in government of the people, by the people, for the people; not the rich, not the violent, not corporations. The Wisconsin Green Party (WIGP) expresses that belief in a different fashion. Grassroots Democracy is one of the Pillars of the WIGP. For myself, they both express the same idea.

There is another value the WIGP shares with Lincoln, the issue raised by the concentration of wealth. Slavery was, and is, the most efficient system of capitalism ever produced. The concentration of wealth from that system in Lincoln’s time was starting to warp the US government. For some, the idea of government placing restrictions on capitalism was a heresy. For some, real freedom meant no regulation of personal or corporate activities, regardless of the effects of those activities. Essentially there was a danger of creating a government of the people, by the rich, for the rich. Lincoln never publicly talked directly about inequality of wealth. But his concern can be discerned in his speeches. The WIGP sees inequality of wealth as beams that connect the 4 Pillars so those pillars do not fall over.

Government of the people, by the people, for the people has never existed without the involvement of the people. The extreme end of involvement is represented by the US Civil War. But this is not the only way. I frequently say we don’t need a revolution, rather we need a revelation. A revelation regarding the true source of all political power and what can be accomplished, if we, the people, work together despite our diversity. Will you join the WIGP and help us implement Lincoln’s ideals?