A Tribute to an American Hero
Today is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States. In my estimation and that of many others, he was a great American. I didn’t say he was a perfect person, nor did I say that everything he did was right. But he was an upright and honorable man who loved his country and did all that he could to preserve her and keep her unified. I don’t know for sure what his personal opinion of slavery was; all I know is he did the right thing while holding the office of the Presidency. He held that office in high esteem, held God in high esteem, and held the people whom he served (we the people) in high esteem. It is my prayer that the day will come that God in His mercy will send us more men like Abraham Lincoln.
Did you know that this tall, stately man had a terrific sense of humor? Once I was looking for joke books for children for my business newsletter, and ran into a delightful one entitled The Abraham Lincoln Joke Book by W.L. Cummings, which contained a bunch of interesting stories about him and by him. He was really funny!! You might want to get this book for your children; it’s in the juvenile section of our library.
I’d like to post here a few of the quotes by this great man (from several sources); I could include so many more if it wouldn’t make this too long. There are some of you who will especially notice several of the ones I’ve included; you’ll know which I mean. Heavy duty.
“Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.”
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” [Remember this one, moms.]
“If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
“In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.”
” Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”
” I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.”
“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”
“Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar.”
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
“Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.”
This one is a favorite of mine, especially in the time we find ourselves now. I’ve posted it before and hope you don’t mind if I post it again:
“Property is the fruit of labor…property is desirable…is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.”
In the past, we’ve used one of these quotes as one of our Speakables. Hopefully, in the future, we’ll use more. Mr. Lincoln was always a favorite American for me. I consider it a blessing that our children can learn about him in their history books. I hope that he has been or will be a part of your learning in your school, whether it be at home or elsewhere. In my estimation he was not only an American hero, but a Christian hero as well.
Talk to you soon,
Maxine, a/k/a Nanna
