...Abraham Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech today, 153 years ago.

I thought you would like to know that 153 years ago today, June 16th, 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech after accepting the nomination to run as the Republican Party's United States Senator for the state of Illinois.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South.

This was probably the most notable portion of the speech. The speech led to his unsuccesful bid for Senator. I personally think that this speech should remind today's Americans that currently we are seeing a similar "House Divided" issue. It is more broad now than it was then. We have a major class divide. Middle class and lower class families are now being pushed further together and farther away from the higher class families. These families are beginning to feel that they don't have any real representation in our State and Federal governments. Our two major political parties look to be more a like than different every day. They seem to be beneath a higher organization that is unseen and unchecked.

So, in contrast to what Mr. Lincoln had said, our house divided problem is more of a nation divided. I personally forsee our nation continuing to have economic and foreign policy problems as long as the minority (high income) continues to govern in self interest and the majority (lower income) feels like an outcast. What should we do?