Nobody Asked Me But...: Same As It Ever Was

NOTE 1: I hope none of you are expecting a deep-dive into politics and history. Heck, I'm just noting similarities between now and then. Neither am I consulting any reference material. Rather, I’m relying on what the nuns beat into me in elementary school.
NOTE 2: If you don't feel like reading the below regurgitation, let me summarize: political hatred has been with us since the beginning.
NOTE 3: I would have been a Federalist. The Republicans (the parties have drastically changed since then) talked a good game about mankind, but a lot of mankind are douchebags, then and now. Incidentally, its standard bearer, Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves. Then again, so did Federalist Alexander Hamilton.

"You did what!? Dude!!"

So...there's that.

The following is a companion piece to my last entry, “If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say”...

For those who are dismayed by the crapfest which passes as American politics, don’t think these things are unprecedented.

This kind of venom has always been with us. It's just that the existence of television and the pervasive influence of that cesspool of hatred and despair (i.e., social media) makes it seem like we're experiencing something new.

In fact, one doesn't have to do a lot of digging to find similar examples. The rise of partisan vitriol has been with us since nearly the beginning of our nation. Even though George Washington warned against the corrosive nature of parties (he also cautioned against foreign entanglements...that worked just as well), the rise of the Federalists and Republicans (aka “Anti-Federalists”) kicked off an animosity which continued nearly unabated up until the dumpster fire of today.

Alexander Hamilton, butted heads quite frequently with Thomas Jefferson. In fact, I dare say they hated each other. Violence, including riots, broke out quite often between their opposing factions.

Coulda been worse, though

John Adams, a noted curmudgeon ridiculed as "His Rotundity," was so butthurt over being succeeded by Jefferson that he refused to attend his successor's inauguration.

You see? Childish immaturity goes back well over two hundred years.

"I think he's talking about you."

By the way, if you get a chance to see the John Adams miniseries on HBO, do yourself a favor and watch it. Paul Giamatti nails the second president. It is a well-done, evenhanded portrayal.

Friends during the Revolution, Adams and Jefferson became bitter opponents. In later life, they pretty much reconciled and became amiable pen pals.

"And I can't get those Whigs to stay off my lawn!"
"You do know I'm right here, don't you?"

The angst didn't stop there...John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, Warren Harding, FDR, Bill Clinton, and so on.

And, obviously, Abraham Lincoln. The schism created by his presidency resulted in...well, hundreds of thousands of dead Americans.

Don't get me wrong. None of what is going on in today's society is good. Personally, I've been sick about it for months. And I'm quite sure it will go on.

My point is, it's not unprecedented. Maybe there is some comfort there. Perhaps not.

Just imagine, though, if Richard Nixon had a Twitter (X...whatever) account.