Good morning, it’s Friday, May 14, 2021, the day of the week when I reprise quotations intended to be uplifting or educational. Today’s, as promised, comes from Abraham Lincoln -- but during the Mexican-American War. Rarely discussed in American politics today, that conflict was a momentous event in the evolution of the two countries. It cost Mexico the potential wealth of California and most of what we know as the American Southwest, as well as much prestige and self-confidence -- not to mention the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians. On the other side of the border, the United States gained vast new lands, a sense of its own power, and a new generation of battle-tested veterans, including two future presidents, Franklin Pierce and Zachary Taylor.