Whigs Redeux

"America has once again arrived at a momentous crossroads. We are going to have to decide--as we have had to decide so many times in the past--whether we shall only speak of justice and speak of principle, or whether we shall stand and fight for them. We are going to have to decide whether we shall quote the words of the Declaration of Independence with real conviction, or whether we shall take that document and throw it on the ash heap of history as we adopt the message of those who insist that we stand silent in the face of injustice. When it comes to deciding whether we shall stand by the great principle that declares that all human beings are “created equal” and “endowed by their Creator” with the “right to life,” it seems to me, there is no choice for silence. Again, there is no choice for silence. Thus, for instance, those so-called Conservatives who are recommending that we avoid the pro-life issue in our public discourse and civic responsibilities are actually recommending--as some people decided in the Whig Party, in the years before the Civil War, that they would be silent on the great issue of principle that faced this nation--we should be silent. And you remember what happened to the Whigs--once the most powerful political force in America. They vanished altogether." Alan Keyes