{"id":4438,"date":"2016-07-12T13:22:03","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T13:22:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=4438"},"modified":"2016-07-24T22:11:39","modified_gmt":"2016-07-24T22:11:39","slug":"the-coming-fury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=4438","title":{"rendered":"“The Coming Fury?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NY<\/p>\n

Did someone mention The Coming Fury<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>– first book of Bruce Catton<\/a>‘s\u00a0Civil War Trilogy<\/a><\/em>?<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

My last two posts noted a recent 10-day family road-trip north, via “convoy<\/a>:”<\/p>\n

Three cars, carrying five adults and seven younger folk, ranging in age from 10 to 22. \u00a0Among other places, we\u2019ll be visiting\u00a0Valley Forge<\/a>, the\u00a0Liberty Bell<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Philadelphia<\/a>\u00a0in general\u2026 \u00a0Last but not least we\u2019ll see\u00a0Hershey PA \u2026 \u201cThe Sweetest Place On Earth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"7096\"For five nights of that 10-day trip, we all stayed with my aunt in\u00a0Wilmington<\/a>. \u00a0Her three-story house is pretty much a museum, and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>a much-loved place to visit. \u00a0(By nephews, great-nieces and -nephews, and other relatives through marriage.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Nowhere is that “museum-ness” more evident than on the third floor. \u00a0The third floor was pretty much my aunt’s private “penthouse” when she was young. \u00a0(My grandparents stayed on the second floor.)<\/em>\u00a0 She was an avid reader then, and<\/em> <\/strong>a great\u00a0collector of books. \u00a0Which means that now the third floor of her home resembles nothing so much as a library.<\/p>\n

And so, late one night that last week of June, in Wilmington, I sat relaxing on the third-floor bed – topped by an air mattress – sipping a bottle of\u00a0Rolling Rock<\/a>. \u00a0It was then that my eyes lighted on a\u00a0Bruce Catton<\/a>\u00a0book I hadn’t<\/em><\/strong> read. \u00a0I have<\/em><\/strong> read – and pretty much loved – all his other\u00a0CW<\/a>\u00a0books.\u00a0 But that night, I saw “Bruce Catton,” on a thick, hard-cover book, and<\/em><\/strong> the unread title, The Coming Fury<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"WmLYancey.jpg\"I was hooked from the first page.<\/p>\n

Catton began by describing the first of two\u00a01860 Democratic National Conventions<\/a>, with the arrival of\u00a0William L. Yancey<\/a>. \u00a0(At left.) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It seems that certain “fire-eaters<\/a>”\u00a0– like Yancey – didn’t care if they caused a “split convention.” \u00a0The result? \u00a0A host of Democrat-delegates walked out of the convention. \u00a0(In essence, a\u00a0revolt<\/a>\u00a0that split the party.)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>That virtually guaranteed the opposition candidate – Abe Lincoln – would be elected.<\/p>\n

All of which may sound familiar to modern ears. \u00a0That is, what caught my eye – in reading the beginning of The Coming Fury<\/a>\u00a0\u2013<\/em>\u00a0was the way Catton’s writing seemed to foreshadow<\/a>\u00a0some of the surprises that may well be coming at this summer’s Republican<\/em> convention:<\/p>\n

The delegates might look for a safe middle ground [and] work out some sort of compromise that would avert a split in the party and nation; \u00a0or<\/strong> they might listen to extremists, scorn the middle ground, and commit all of America to a dramatic leap into the dark.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 1860, it was the Democrats<\/em>\u00a0who saw their party literally split in two. \u00a0(Thus virtually guaranteeing the election of a candidate they didn’t <\/strong>want.)<\/em>\u00a0 In 2016, it may be the Republicans<\/em> who experience a delegate revolt, and thus a\u00a0split<\/a>\u00a0party<\/a>. \u00a0(See also\u00a0karma<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"AlexanderThe first 36 pages of Coming Fury<\/a><\/em>\u00a0led up to Part Four of Chapter One, “The Party is Split Forever.” \u00a0(A quote from\u00a0Alexander Stephens<\/a>\u00a0– at right – after a friend said “things might be patched up” at the second, “rump<\/a>” Democratic\u00a0<\/em>convention in Baltimore.) \u00a0<\/em>Then at pages 78-80, Catton explored some of the reasons<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0behind the split in the party.<\/p>\n

He began by saying the choices made at the two competing Democratic conventions “came at least in part out of a general, unreasoned resentment against immigration and the immigrant<\/em><\/strong>.” \u00a0(E.A.)<\/em><\/p>\n

[By 1860,] Americans both North and South could see that something cherished and familiar was being lost. \u00a0Looking back only a few years, it was easy to see a society where … everyone thought, spoke and acted more or less alike, living harmoniously by a common tradition.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which is being interpreted<\/a>: \u00a0“Some things never change<\/em><\/strong>.” \u00a0Aside from that, if anyone in 1860 had thought about it, they might have come up with a catchy slogan like “Make America Great Again<\/a>.” \u00a0(That is, a call to “return the country to its previous glory.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

However (as Catton wrote), that cherished vision of the past – “singularly uncomplicated and unworried … simple and self-sustaining” – seemed to be on the verge of disappearing:<\/p>\n

Revolutionary change was taking place everywhere … and people who liked things as they had been<\/strong> found the change abhorrent. \u00a0Furthermore, it seemed possible that newcomers were at least partly responsible for the change… \u00a0Germans, Irish, French, Italians, men of new tongues and new creeds and new folk ways, cut adrift from Europe… \u00a0It was easy to feel they were corrupting the old America. (E.A.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(79-80) \u00a0Which may be another way of saying that a large group of people who hadn’t<\/em> been free – before – were about to get<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0freedom for the first time in their lives.<\/p>\n

But then and now, such a change in the\u00a0status quo<\/a>\u00a0scares a lot of people. \u00a0As Catton wrote, “To fear change meant to fear the alien – the man who looked and talked and acted differently, and who therefore was probably dangerous.” (80) \u00a0Which helped give rise to the\u00a0fire-eaters<\/a>\u00a0noted above. \u00a0(Defined in part as “extremists<\/a> who did much to weaken the fragile unity of the nation.”) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Which brings up the subject of “splitting” in another context.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Independent Voter<\/a>, I noted the phenomenon of “splitting<\/a>,” a\u00a0personality disorder<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>also called “black and white thinking:”<\/p>\n

Splitting …\u00a0is the failure in a person’s thinking to bring together the dichotomy<\/a> of both positive and negative qualities of the self and others into a cohesive, realistic whole. \u00a0It is a common defense mechanism<\/a> used by many people.\u00a0 The individual tends to think in extremes (i.e., an individual’s actions and motivations are all<\/i> good or all<\/i> bad with no middle ground).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s also known as\u00a0cognitive distortion<\/a>, or or “all-or-nothing thinking.” \u00a0And as noted, it’s a common defense mechanism that seems to be getting commoner and commoner these days<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"joe-walsh-defends-tweet\"Which means that in times of great stress, people are more prone to say really hurtful, unproductive or downright stupid things. \u00a0(Like ex-congressman\u00a0Joe Walsh<\/a>, at right.)<\/em><\/p>\n

But my personal\u00a0theory is that resorting to cliches, canned responses<\/a>, and\/or downright stupid remarks – in times of great stress – simply “beats the heck out of having to think!”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

So in times of great stress – like we’ve seen in the last week or so – one option is to say something really stupid and\/or\u00a0counterproductive<\/a>, like\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThis is now war<\/em><\/strong><\/a>!<\/em><\/strong>” \u00a0Or you can\u00a0sheathe your sword<\/a>\u00a0– metaphorically or otherwise – and\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>stop<\/em><\/strong> adding fuel to the fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After all, who wants to start another\u00a0American Civil War<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Or as that great philosopher\u00a0Henry Ford<\/a>\u00a0once put it (offering a better solution):<\/p>\n

\"Don't<\/p>\n

In other words, “Be a part of the solution, not part of the problem<\/a>\u2026”<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0NY Post’s Shameful ‘Civil War’ Cover On Dallas | Crooks and Liars<\/a><\/em>. (Although there was a literal\u00a0plethora<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>of internet sources available: \u00a0See for example\u00a0New York Post Recklessly Hypes ‘Civil War’ After Dallas Shooting<\/a>\u00a0(Huffington Post), and<\/em>\u00a0New York Post Blares Dallas Police Killings Set Off ‘CIVIL\u00a0WAR<\/a><\/em>‘” – from the\u00a0Talking Points Memo<\/a>\u00a0website –\u00a0<\/em>which described the\u00a0Post<\/a><\/em>\u00a0as an “infamous tabloid, known for its inflammatory headlines.”)<\/em><\/p>\n

The book-cover image is courtesy of\u00a0<\/em>The Coming Fury by Bruce Catton \u2014 Reviews, Discussion<\/em><\/a>. References to the text are from the are from the 1961 hard-cover Doubleday and Company edition, “The Centennial History of the Civil War, Volume 1.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: “Fire-eaters.” \u00a0Here’s a quote I found working on this post, but misplaced the cite:<\/em><\/p>\n

James M. McPherson<\/a> suggested in Battle Cry of Freedom<\/a><\/i> that the \u201cFire-eater\u201d program of breaking up the convention and running a rival ticket was deliberately intended to bring about the election of a Republican as President, and thus trigger secession\u2026 \u00a0Whatever the \u201cintent\u201d of the fire-eaters may have been, doubtless many of them favored secession, and the logical, probable, and actual consequence of their actions was to fragment the Democratic party and thereby virtually ensure a Republican victory.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The “success-failure” image is courtesy of\u00a0Why Black or White Thinking May be Keeping Keep Your Clients Stuck<\/a>: \u00a0“I don’t know about you, but ‘Black or White’ or ‘All or Nothing’ thinking is one of the\u00a0commonest issues I see with my coaching clients. \u00a0When a client is stuck – it’s often because they are looking at the world through this Black or White thinking filter…” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(“The Coaching Tools Company.com is based on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada. Launched in March 2009 … our goal is to inspire coaches and help spread the positive impact of coaching throughout the world. We do this by helping coaches get established, grow their clients, grow their skills and grow their businesses.”)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On that subject, see also\u00a0All or Nothing’, or ‘Black and White’ Thinking and Depression<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0Ex-congressman Joe Walsh. \u00a0See\u00a0<\/em>Ex Congressman tweets of war against Obama<\/a><\/em>, Joe Walsh defends tweet threatening “war”\u00a0on Obama<\/a>,\u00a0Ex-Congressman Walsh on Dallas shootings: \u201cThis is now war<\/a>,” and\/or\u00a0Ex-congressman threatens “war,\u2019”warns Obama to \u2018watch out<\/a>.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And by the way \u2013\u00a0Joe Walsh \u2013\u00a0the Bible clearly says,\u00a0\u201cYou shall not speak evil of a leader of your people<\/strong>.\u201d (See\u00a0Exodus 22:28<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0the beginning of\u00a0Acts 23<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Re: “sheath your sword.” \u00a0See also\u00a0Sheath Your Sword | Duke Today<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lower image is courtesy of\u00a0Don’t find fault, find a remedy… poster | Zazzle<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0See also\u00a0Quote by Henry Ford: \u201cDon’t find fault, find a remedy (Goodreads)<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0As to the phrase “<\/em>You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem<\/a>.” \u00a0it is generally – and most recently – attributed to Eldridge Cleaver<\/a>. \u00a0However, a\u00a0guardian.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0article on the subject included one reader who said this was a “misquotation.” \u00a0Another reader wrote: \u00a0“Eldridge Cleaver was hardly being original. \u00a0‘Those who are not for us are against us’ is in the Bible – and had probably been said before that.” \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Note that the Bible-quote is from\u00a0Matthew 12:30 “Whoever is not with me is against me…<\/a>” \u00a0Note further that this was part of Jesus’ sermon on\u00a0A House Divided<\/a><\/em>. \u00a0See also the\u00a0“House Divided” Speech by Abraham Lincoln<\/a>, given in 1858, when he was running for the office of Senator from Illinois. \u00a0(Two years before the original<\/strong> American Civil War.) \u00a0And finally, see the post from my companion blog,\u00a0On Jesus: Liberal or Fundamentalist<\/a><\/em>? \u00a0That post compared\u00a0Matthew 12:30<\/a>\u00a0with what Jesus said in\u00a0Mark 9:40<\/a><\/em>: \u00a0“For whoever is not against us is for us.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Did someone mention The Coming Fury\u00a0– first book of Bruce Catton‘s\u00a0Civil War Trilogy? * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 My last two posts noted a recent 10-day family road-trip north, via “convoy:” Three cars, carrying five adults and seven younger folk, ranging in age from 10 to 22. \u00a0Among other places, we\u2019ll be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4438"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4438"}],"version-history":[{"count":117,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4644,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4438\/revisions\/4644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}