Thoughts on Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter was fired on by the rebel army seeking separation of the slave states from the Union 150 years ago today, and though the Civil War that resulted ended with the United States being restored, it looks like we're on the verge of repeating history.

Maybe we won't have an all-out war, with armies, like the Civil War was. But with different parts of the country at odds with each other - and with Republicans and Democrats in Washington playing the most cynical partisan games that help no one and hurt too many of us - the disunion over what kind of nation we want to live in is growing more heated. It's more heated, in fact, than at any time since the late 1850s, when battle lines were drawn over extending slavery in the territories and Supreme Court rulings that favored states' rights, like the Dred Scott decision.

The anger and the resentment over government in the Tea Party and toward the wealthy and the powerful in progressive groups as well has led to a powder keg ready to explode. The emerging details of the budget deal might just set it off.

Meanwhile, Fort Sumter sits in an ironically quiet place in the middle of Charleston Harbor.