Speaking to the Better Angles of Our Nature in 2009 - Abraham Lives in the 21st Century

Even though I am not a religious person, I had a chill of excitement run up my spine when I read the following on Politico.com:

“Though there is no constitutional requirement for the use of a Bible
during the swearing-in, Presidents have traditionally used Bibles for
the ceremony, choosing a volume with personal or historical
significance. President-elect Obama will be the first President sworn
in using the Lincoln Bible since its initial use in 1861.” (read the full article by clicking here)

Then this thought went through my mind: There is nothing more profoundly significant and powerful than the symbolism of Barack Obama, our first mixed-race President, putting his hand on the bible that Abraham Lincoln used when being sworn in as President of the United States of America. What could be more fitting? It will be a moment in history that proves we, the People of the United States, have come a long, long way. President Lincoln is truly “Speaking to the Better Angles of Our Nature” even today….in 2009.

BUT THEN………..I went down to read some of the comments on the blog post and the first commentator wrote the following: ICONIC HUBRIS. (the commentator identifies him/herself as a Republican). I have to say, my brief fantasy of our country coming together in these difficult times evaporated in an instant. It occurred to me that America has perpetually wrestled with powerful demons: racism, a starkly divided two-party political system, economic disparity, displacing native peoples, fighting one of the most brutal civil wars in history and many others. I had thought, perhaps naively, that most of us would be proud of our new President and that some wounds might be healed.

So, to purge the bitter taste from my mouth I found a copy of the Gettysburg Address and printed here to remind myself never to forget why history is important and why so many of us should go back and revisit it. It’s still as inspiring as ever:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here qave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

If you are inspired to ponder the resonance of Abraham Lincoln, just click on the picture below which will link you to the NPR website of the American Icons Series. Here you will find several eloquent audio pieces well worth listening to. Enjoy