Abraham Lincoln holds a mythic position in the American consciousness. He is respected across the political spectrum. He rewrote America's social contract and self-image. And because he led the nation through civil war and the abolition of slavery, he is now given the status of a Greek god cast in bronze and marble.
Lincoln is essential to America's social contract, and therefore he is essential to any political aim that seeks to reshape the national project. He has been criticized by the “woke” left and the alt-right as a symbol of the neoliberal consensus, and used by those in power as a symbol of equality and unity.
One of the saddest things about the modern world is the functional destruction of the concept of intimate male friendships.
So it's no wonder the LGBT movement comes to claim him as well. No American president has ever openly been gay, but several presidents have faced questions about their sexual orientation. Lincoln's predecessor james buchanan
deliberate provocation
A recent documentary boldly announces its intentions with its straightforward title, “Lover of Men: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln.”
hollywood reporter that they were “thrilled” that Ben Shapiro, Alex Jones, and Elon Musk were furious about it. “This story is provocative,” said director Shaun Peterson.
The cases brought forward by “Lover of Men” are roughly as follows. Throughout his adult life, Lincoln had very close relationships with several men, perhaps more intimate than traditional friendships. He slept with men for months or years at a time, disclosed details of his sex life in letters, and openly expressed his deep emotional connections with them.
“Lover of Men” dismisses most of the immediate rebuttals with a shrug; the first reason being that beds in the 19th century were expensive and in short supply, and inns often assigned multiple men to one bed, and male friends It was not uncommon for them to share a bed.
Peterson's argument is based on the common modern assumption that intimacy and sexuality are deeply intertwined. The possibility that two men could share a deep love without any erotic overtones is largely ignored in favor of the alternative sound that Lincoln was gay. — proves irresistible.
Ironically, Peterson's eagerness to reach this conclusion says more about America today than it did in Lincoln's day. One of the saddest things about the modern world is the functional destruction of the concept of intimate male friendships. flat
Part of this is due to the decline in fraternities, with most all-male organizations now accepting women. Part of it is also an increased anxiety among men about being perceived as less than masculine.
The breakdown of male friendships
Still, the pernicious influence of the LGBT lobby's tendency to cast public male intimacy as gay should not be underestimated. It is a particularly fanciful attempt to affirm the Passion despite all evidence to the contrary, especially in spite of author J.R.R. Tolkien's devout Catholic status.
The result is a negative feedback loop. Men have fewer and fewer opportunities to express themselves. They are criticized for not being emotional. At the same time, any expression of emotion is taken as evidence of homosexuality.
Target of LGBT revisionistsdiagnosed this problem more than 60 years ago in his book The Four Loves: “People who are unable to see friendship as substantive love, but only as a cover-up or elaboration of eros, The rest of us know that though we can have erotic love and friendship for the same person yet in some ways nothing is less like a Friendship than a love affair.”
Was Lincoln “closed”? While this is certainly possible, it seems likely that this claim will be impossible to prove. Lover of Men takes this as reason enough to ponder. As one interviewee argues, “If the naysayers had their way, there wouldn't be a gay history because you couldn't prove it.”
Whatever one's personal opinions on the matter, using Lincoln as a vehicle for modern-day activism in this way is bad history. i don't know. We should be willing to admit our ignorance. Some things remain a mystery.
