What Do They Say To You?
"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 gave their lives that that 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 here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather 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 government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . . shall not perish from the earth. "
- Abraham Lincoln
The words still resonate ... what do they say to you?
This day, it has become to mean an entirely different thing altogether. I'm at a fulcrum, of sort; still wending my way through it all.
Overall - in the grand scheme of things?? Why, Melissa..... it is Everything. Indeed, tis the embodiment of the best of our very (collective) soul.
Having babbled that, I leave you to others who're in possession of far greater words.
November 17, 2008 10:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
The embodiment of the best of us ... Everything.
Very well put, I say.
November 17, 2008 10:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
They say it's now OK to get choked up.
Did you read David Remnick's New Yorker piece, "The Joshua Generation"? Vignette from it: Obama was rehearsing his acceptance speech for Denver, and hesitated on the reference to "45 years ago" (March on Washington). He got choked up, for the first time. Had to take a short walk to compose himself.
If you don't get subscribe, find a copy of the November 17 issue, beautiful cover, beautiful stories.
November 17, 2008 10:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'll look for it, thank you. And yes ... choked up, indeed.
November 17, 2008 10:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work... a new birth of freedom"
It's thrilling actually to look ahead to Jan 20 - and see some work come to fruition. And it's agonizing to see how much remains to be done - under a president Lincoln might never have dreamed would occupy his office.
Obama is a man of oration. And I suspect some of his speeches will endure. Even more, I hope we will finish other work and that too will endure. I especially hope for health care for all.
November 17, 2008 10:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I remember having to memorize those words in fifth grade, (I think it was fifth grade : o), and they made a profound impact on me then and still do today. The eloquence of Abraham Lincoln's words, and not just of this address, never fail to impress me. He was a man and legislator who lived during the so called 'golden age of the Senate', when words were not cheap and intellect was revered,and elevated by the people and their elected officials. After 8 years of W I am eager to regain eloquence in the public discourse of our chief executive.
I spent most of my childhood and adolescence within an hours drive of Gettysburg, and with my father being an American history buff we visited the battlefield often. So there is that as well, my memory of family outings with me Da explaining the various events that occurred throughout the three days of the battle.
It also reminds me of the one scene in the film, 'Three Days of the Condor', where John Houseman an intelligence big-wig, while reminiscing of the beginning days of the OSS compared the the current state of the intelligence community says: "I miss the clarity". That statement could equally apply to most of our foreign fiascos following the second WW. Iraq seems to go one up by not only lacking clarity, but defying logic. So there is that in the Gettysburg address for me, nostalgia for a clarity of purpose, of knowing you are on the right side of issues, that I have found generally lacking in US foreign policy during my life.
November 17, 2008 10:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
I remember memorizing the words, too. I always stumbled over the middle ... but could barely keep from shouting the last paragraph.
Clarity. Two minutes to say so much. In recent years, it seems eloquence and wisdom have been replaced by ego and lust for power.
November 17, 2008 11:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Obama and Lincoln have much in common, and all I can keep thinking is that this is the man we need now... Although we are not in the middle of a blood shedding civil war, we are in the midst of a cultural/moral/financial civil war and we need another "Lincoln" to guide us through it. I think we have him.
November 18, 2008 12:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
I am taking a class right now in which we have been studying Locke, Montesquieu, Madison's notes on the Philadelphia Convention, the Federalist papers and the Anti-Federalist papers. It has struck me just how hard those people long ago worked to try and create a system that would endure, that would be strong and stable, yet still respect the rights of individuals, the interests of their states, and the ultimate good of liberty for all.
And I look at what modern politicians have done with this system. They aren't the first to corrupt it to their self-interests and those of their keepers. It speaks wonders that the system has survived as long as it has.
But I wonder when we will get leaders worthy of the work done over that very hot summer and fall so long ago.
When I read of backroom deals for Lieberman and the failed capitalists, and foreign intrigue in Georgia and Iraq, I see the warnings the attendees and the writers gave embodied.
I think we have reached a turning point; how Obama leads us and the Democratic Congress in the next four years could make all the difference whether we start living up to the ideals of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, or slide into oblivion as a failed experiment in self-government.
November 18, 2008 12:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
It is a turning point, and we definitely need Obama to lead us. But we can never allow ourselves to sink once again into oblivion as a people. In large measure, we have been asleep because we gave up on our country. We were already tired and 9/11/01 just gave too many a reason to nap. Constitution and Bill of Rights? Who needed them when we had something red, white and blue like the Patriot Act to protect us.
"... and that Government of the people ... by the people ... for the people shall not perish from the earth."
It's ultimately up to us to keep an eye on things.
November 18, 2008 12:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
How far we have come, how far we yet have to go.
And for those who have derided Obama's eloquence, as they derided Lincoln's - one commenter referred to his "...silly, flat, and dish-watery utterances", let's remember that the words come from a vision behind the eyes of the speaker.
That there is no point at which we can say "we're done" and walk away, that there is no finish to making things better than they were, that there is no honor, at the end of it, beyond having done what we can to make right what is not.
And that speaking plainly and directly to an issue is by far the wiser choice.
November 18, 2008 12:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Perfect.
November 18, 2008 12:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
Now I'm blushing...
November 18, 2008 12:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Lincoln was one of our most challenged (due to the situation at hand) and yet eloquent and moving Presidents that we've ever had. He bridged divides with heartspoken words that resonate to this day.
That's speaking from a historical point of view.
Back in his day, he was derided for being plain, yes no?
Just goes to show.
November 18, 2008 12:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, plain. Huge thoughts and ideas can spring from a plain mind. Just as small people often use fancy words to hide behind the curtain of ignorence.
November 18, 2008 1:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
And some people can be so grandiose as to hide the fact that they are raping our constitution right in front of us, only we can't see it.
Lincoln, and Obama, and many other presidents would never do that to us.
I'm so freaking grateful to see a real human at the helm again.
That being said, as I said in a new post of mine, I wish that everyone would leave Barack alone for a time and let him make his decisions without everyone watching him every second of the day and analyzing and diagnosing every one of his words.
But, heh....maybe that's just me.
November 18, 2008 1:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's the 24-hour news hole. Nothing is safe. There's airtime to fill.
There is also the known human tendency to see pattern and meaning where none exists. And at times like this, when change is in the air and the viewing public is dialed in (and let's not forget that November is a sweeps month) we are going to get the longest days of the commentariat.
It does beat Britney or Brangelina, that much I know.
And underneath all that, there is our collective hunger to see the change we know is in the works arrive, much as we step off the curb to see the coming bus, even knowing that seeing it does not make it arrive one second sooner.
So, much as I agree with you on this - maybe we ought to make a "Leave Barack alone!" video like that kid on Youtube - it's just not going to happen.
At least we don't have to remain glued to it nonstop. Maybe dig into a good book, or go for a walk if it's not raining.
November 18, 2008 1:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Or go for a walk even if it is raining. You'll only get wet, enjoy the splash of a really good puddle! But oh! Don't forget the camera.
Enjoy every moment of peace and solitude that you can find. After all, just imagine how much Obama would give for just one instant of it.
November 18, 2008 1:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
EXACTLY! To both of you.
November 18, 2008 1:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
You just brought another memory back to me. Some friends and I, long ago, in Chicago, getting caught in a raging downpour at the fest called "Taste of Chicago". We took shelter where we could for a while, and then headed to the "L" trains to go home. When we ran across the large puddles that seemingly flooded every corner, we all leapt into them as a group, splashing everyone and everything around us as we shouted in childlike abandon. We saw a couple hiding from the rain (and possibly us!) in a doorway, and just called out to them, "You don't know what you're missing!"
It took two days for the clothes I wore that night to dry out.
It was worth it.
November 18, 2008 2:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
Old Grouch, you are anything but. ;-)
November 18, 2008 2:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
If I helped to spark that memory ... cool! My wish for all of us is to jump in puddles, with friends, and to laugh with childlike abandon. Or to fall down in the snow and make an angel. Maybe swing on an old tire tied by a knotted rope to the branch of an ancient tree. To let the kid we need to be again show up in all its glory. What a wonderful world it would be.
November 18, 2008 3:06 AM | Reply | Permalink