Abraham Lincoln and the power of opinion

By Edward Achorn

If we hope to retain a representative democracy — always a difficult task — we will have to protect expressions of opinion and analysis, including unpopular ideas.

The heart of America remains the First Amendment — our right to question a powerful government without being punished or suppressed by that government.

Certainly, Abraham Lincoln understood the importance of public opinion in a free nation.

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Churchill’s advice: Never, never, never, never give in

By Edward Achorn

The above picture is of yours truly on a raw day in London three springs ago, posing with the statue of Winston Churchill on the northeast corner of Parliament Square.

Churchill chose the site in the 1950s, though the statue was not installed until 1973, eight years after his death. It overlooks the Houses of Parliament, where Churchill played an immense role in his country’s life, and survival, rising to prime minister at its darkest hour, in May 1940, as Adolf Hitler prepared to snuff out Britain and control the European continent.

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