And all this time, I thought that FreeRepublic was a forum to discover truths; dispel myths; celebrate the essence of the reprensentative democracy we are supposed to reside in; extoll the virtues of those who fought for and revered the United States Constitution. Forgive me for misunderstanding.
You're not talking about truths. You're talking about opinions. Divisive opinions. Controversial opinions. Opinions that ultimately have no resolution and only pick the scab off a conflict that's 150 years old.
Not that FR isn't a good place for that. But I don't think that's what the thread's author had in mind. This thread was a salute to a long-lost gentility and the spirit of a noble man. It's probably not the time or place to get into a century-old fistfight.
Not that any mere sense of propriety will stop you ...