Lincoln's Legacy

Okay, so I can't wait. I know it is only June 30, but who wants to discuss the end of the fiscal year anyway? I thought it a fitting tribute to begin my month-long salute to patriotism by paying homage to our 16th U.S. President, Mr. Abraham Lincoln.



Why do I love Lincoln, you ask? For many reasons, yet here are eleven in no particular order:

1. He was common in appearance. He did not have a flair for being the charming, smooth, and dashing man in office (much the opposite of how I would characterize Reagan, Romney, or Chaffetz). He was simple, yet charismatic, and used humor to hide his depression.
2. He was humble. He was a talented athlete, although most people do not know that about him because of his endearing humilty.
3. He was a man of foresight. He had a vision for our country and was deeply rooted in morality. He was steadfast and immovable.
4. He was a man of honor. I love him because he was genuine; he did not need to hide behind appearance or cunning. He did not engage in secret combination.
5. He united a country once divided.
6. He freed the slaves.
7. He was eloquent and riveting in speech. Although I do not believe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was his best speech ever written, it was truly one of the most defining speeches in American history.
8. He epitomized the American spirit. He was a champion of all, an exemplary man.
9. He was super smart. He held a patent in 1849 for overhauling steamboats, allowing them to lift over the shoals. (I like the smart ones.)
10. He was compassionate. He understood a thing or two about the travails of life having lost his mother at a young age and three of his four children.
11. Although he has no living descendants, he continues to be an inspiration to generations of Americans.

"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." (March 4, 1865)

I love Abraham Lincoln. He may not have been full of grace, and he may not have been the most popular among his peers, but I know that he fulfilled his mission with a fulness of heart. I believe his character was second to none, and his legacy will live on through times of peace and times of tempest. I believe that he was foreordained to come to this world to lead our nation and to break the bonds of slavery. I trust that he now sits on the right hand of God, having been just and swift in the cause of righteousness, and will inherit all that our Father hath. God bless you, Abe. Your death will not be remembered in vain..."that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."