One-hundred-and-fifty years from now, the great-great-great-great-great granddaughter of American Thinker writer Carole Jackson may well pen an op-ed piece and invite readers to explain American pride and, specifically, how there can be pride in a country that so shamefully embraced abortion.

In answer to this distant descendant of Carole Jackson, some loving and gentle reader will no doubt remind her that the former United States, before it disappeared under the boot of invading armies from around the world, was not defined by the evil of abortion any more than the Old South was defined by the evil of slavery.

Sure, slavery existed in the Confederacy.  And abortion existed in the United States.  But there was far more to each place than just those two abominations.  Far, far more.

In both places there was family.  There were dreams.  There was room to build and to grow.

In both places there was scientific discovery and there were tireless efforts to make people healthier so they could live longer and better.

In both places there was education, an ongoing expansion of knowledge and understanding in all fields of inquiry and study.

In both places there was an amazing bounty of delicacies to delight the palate as well as an ever-expanding array of inspirational diversions and pursuits.

In both places there were scenic wonders upon which one could gaze with awe and marvel.

In both places there was hope, always and above everything else hope, for a better South and for a better United States -- in the case of the former, hope that slavery would end; in the latter, hope that abortion would cease.

It is all these good things and more that people celebrate and revere when they look back through the mists of time to remember the Confederacy or the former United States.

It is not slavery or abortion they think about or dwell upon, for they recognize that life in the Old South did not revolve around slavery just as life in the defunct United States did not revolve around abortion.  Thus, to them, to equate the Old South with Nazi Germany because of slavery or the United States with Hitler’s Third Reich because of abortion is cruel, illogical, and intellectually dishonest.

It is therefore proper and good that people never lose sight of either the Old South or the late, great United States – and for identical reasons.

Some who ponder those former places may be able to see only the slavery or the abortion.  But they should not begrudge others the freedom, the joy, to see and take pride in that which is worth honoring.