Stephen A. Douglas was a Great Debator, Abraham Lincoln was the Great Emancipator

I'm not really sure why, but I've always been fascinated by history. In this space, I've expressed my love for Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" and you have probably observed that a large portion of my "Current Reading" selections are history focused. It seems that there is some type of value or comfort in knowing that Solomon was correct when he told us that "there is nothing new under the sun."

As much as the world changes and evolves, there are some challenges and joys that are simply an intrinsic part of the human experience. As I have been reading through David McCullough's John Adams recently, I was struck by a quote from Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush expressing his less than enthusiastic outlook on the American moral landscape. In 1789, Rush wrote to Adams, "A hundred years hence, absolute monarchy will probably be rendered necessary in our country by the corruption of our people."

It is always easy to look back and dream wistfully of the "good old days", but we cannot forget that although the world has changed a great deal in the 218 years between Rush's statement and today, the "good old days" were probably filled with the same doomsday prophecies and apprehension that characterize our current state of affairs.
,
Today's U2 video is the classic opening track to 1987's The Joshua Tree, "Where the Streets Have No Name". I've chosen the video from U2's performance at Super Bowl XXXVI, which was the first Super Bowl played after 9/11. I still remember that this halftime performance, along with Michael Jackson's at Super Bowl XXVII, was one of the best ones that I have ever seen.


I've also decided to include the version from the Slane Castle concert that I keep mentioning. Something great was happening that night in August 2001.