A century ago Lincoln observed that the dogmas of the quiet past were inadequate to the stormy present. “As our case is new,” he said, “so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves.” Once again, our case is new; and nothing is more urgent than the obligation to disenthrall ourselves from the dogmas of the quiet past. Let us not suppose that we can freeze the United States—or the world—into the mold of today, or of a generation ago.