“At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher.” —Abraham Lincoln, Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, 1838
Voltaire once said, “Common sense is not so common.”
Nearly three centuries later, that bit of irony feels less like wit and more like warning. In a country that prides itself on independence of thought, far too many Americans have surrendered that independence to political tribalism. Decisions aren’t guided by reason or facts but by which side happens to be yelling loudest…