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Of the forty-four men who have held the position of the highest office in our land, Abraham Lincoln may be one of the few who actually understood the job.
Being President of the United States demands that you comprehend the magnitude of the mission while having a mind for the messiness. You must deal with the threat of your time, keep the nation at peace in its heart, while finding a way to disregard the many voices in Congress which would steer the ship toward the rocks. Of course, being the best at something does mean you’re going to be the most criticized. For after all, everybody has an opinion on everything, which they will gladly share with everyone, and it always ends up being a little wrong every time.
Abraham Lincoln, Republican candidate for the presidency, 1860 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
So if the name of Abraham Lincoln is brought up, you just might hear:
- a tyrant (for after all, he did suspend many personal rights in the pursuit of keeping the country together)
- a racist (the point being that he never really wanted to free the slaves, just scare away the English and French from assisting the South)
- a hick (certainly reaching for his napkin instead of using his sleeve was not Abe’s first instinct)
- a lousy husband (there are those who felt the problems with Mary Todd were due to Lincoln’s insensitivity)
- an abused husband (in contrast, some felt that Mary Todd’s insanity held Lincoln back from even greater conclusions)
- a Yankee (anyone south of the Mason Dixon line certainly had no problem voicing this thought)
- stubborn (well, if you consider that he stood against almost everybody at some time or another)
- honest (that was his campaign slogan, you know–Honest Abe)
- a lawyer (he was licensed to do so, though didn’t spend a tremendous amount of time in that pursuit)
- had a girl’s voice (he was known for his whiney tone and high pitch)
- a failure (by the way, if you’re keeping score, he actually lost that Lincoln-Douglas debate)
- awkward (what’s the old saying? He was too tall for his feet)
- an abolitionist (the average plantation owner didn’t see any reason for sticking up for black people unless they were trying to woo one late at night in the slave quarters)
- a gay man (yes, there is some sort of report that he shared his bed on cold nights with a male traveling companion) and most recently…
- a vampire hunter (no idea on that one)
There you go. Obviously, all of these things can’t be true and what is true is probably lost in antiquity. So most of the opinions of people nowadays would just be what I call Abe-bull.
Here’s what we do know–of the two most important questions posed to Abraham Lincoln, he answered them in such a way that it brought dignity to his memory. And those two questions are simple: what is the best of my understanding of the present situation? So therefore, looking at myself and my abilities, what can I do?
There were many people who lived in Abraham Lincoln’s day who had a grasp of the problem but were frightened of the solution. To Lincoln, it was easy. His understanding of the situation was that the United States was a union of people who believed that all men are created equal. So therefore, he decided to maintain the integrity of that union at all cost, and in the process, set in motion a mission to make us equal.
Now, Richard Nixon came along at a time when the country was embroiled in a never-ending war, social upheaval and confusion, with our sons being returned in body bags every single day. His response to that was to elongate the war, increase the bombing and lie to the American people about his actions, culminating in a cover-up that nearly emotionally destroyed this country.
Judas Iscariot lived in a day when his nation was being occupied by the Roman Empire, and he believed there was a need for a leader to come along and save them, allowing them the freedom to be themselves in worship. But when he met a man who had a message of love for the entire world, he opted to reject him and betray him because the solution was not totally on point with his own thinking.
Franklin Roosevelt came along at a time when the country was in a depression and eventually involved in a war, and rather than following previously policy or even reasonable thinking, he created jobs (often made up) and generated a pathway which eventually led us out of the financial ruin, mainly due to our involvement in a war to destroy fascism.
Jesus of Nazareth came to the earth when some of the worst domination and violence that ever existed was in full swing, and instead of feeding the frenzy of revenge, he asked men to seek out their own talents to make the world a better place. And because they decided to remain vicious, he was willing to become their savior instead of just their teacher.
Can I tell you folks, I have been called fat, generous, stubborn, liberal, conservative, a heretic, a preacher, a singer, a squawker, a musician, a hack, a husband, a meanie, a saint, a sinner, a lover, a fumbler, a Yankee, a Rebel, and most recently, a gypsy troubadour (I assume similar to being a vampire hunter).
I ignore all of these assertions. I follow the philosophy of Abraham Lincoln, so I take a look at the world around me and I come up with this: to the best of my understanding, God loves people and wants them to expand and succeed. So therefore, I think I should let them know of this great opportunity in as many ways as possible.
There are two ways to live in this world. You can listen to all the news reports or you can go out and make some good news.
It’s up to you.
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