Past is prologue.

Vanishing American provides "the text of a broadside published in South Carolina in October, 1876. It alludes to some of the disruptions and disorder that were a distinguishing feature of the Reconstruction era. The Cainhoy Mutiny and the Charleston riots were examples."

The last sentence of this text:

The peril is greater now than then; for when the worst and most degraded elements of society enter into, or control a government, there is too much reason to apprehend some catastrophe which we hardly dare to contemplate.'

There's a choice passage in this broadside about disarming white Rifle Clubs but allowing black Militia to remain armed and attend political rallies, no less.

On the larger issue, however, we see that same phenomenon today. An entire people in thrall to the rankest fantasies about the black underclass (and widespread black academic inadequacy) served up by utter buffoons that populate the Congressional Black Caucus. Populate it heavily, I might add.

And do.

Served up by those buffoons and their enablers in the major parties and our corrupt legacy media.

Our entire national debate is degraded. Participants thread their way through minefields of explosive topics that cannot be addressed or or can only be addressed in a fashion that would make the obsequious Eddie Haskill blush with shame.

"Propositional nation," "diversity is our strength," "legacy of slavery," "underprivileged," black racism, "entitlement," "inequality," "Historically Black Colleges," "affirmative action" AKA anti-white discrimination, "religion of peace," wildly disproportionate black crime rates, Mr. Obama's missing paper trail, his fake "birth certificate," his multiple Social Security numbers, black city government corruption, black illegitimacy, black hatred for America, the civil rights legal shakedown industry, massive Hispanic invasion equivalent to 1,333 infantry divisions (20M? illegals, 15K per division), Mexico's rational immigration laws and practices, and, oh, Obama's constitutional ineligibility for the office of president, inter alia.

All forbidden areas of discussion.

Abandon all hope ye who venture there.

"'To the people of the U.S.', 1876." Vanishing American, 9/2/11.