A Fourth of July Meditation

At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? .... I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.Abraham LincolnJanuary 27, 1838