Revisiting the Civil War

This week, people are remembering one of the most deadliest wars of our nation....it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War
 An article on CNN commemorates the anniversary and looks at 4 ways that we are still fighting some of the same issues that fueled the Civil War.."The shutdown of the federal government, war in Libya, the furor over the new health care law and Guantanamo Bay -- all have tentacles that reach back to the Civil War, historians say." They point to four "weird parallels"...
1) the disappearance of the political center 
2) the question...how much power should the federal government have?
3) unleashing the dogs of war
4) the president as dictator
The article on CNN.com elaborates on the four points to say that the same issues that fueled the Civil War are still debated amongst Americans today and a century-and-a-half after the war ended people still clash over the cause and meaning...this seems to be true as I live in the South and still see many people sporting the Confederate flag which provokes anger in some people (both southerners and northerners) who see it.