president obama channels his inner president lincoln quite frequently- and rightly so. lincoln was an intelligent man faced with a difficult burden- and has been built up into a cult status as well. but, in the end, he was a man- a fellow human being on the planet. and, in his own words,"I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
"I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day."
and as i began to read more of his quotes, i wondered precisely how, without completely rewriting history, the republican party could claim lincoln as their own. just because they shared the same party name doesn't mean that they shared the same value system:
"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."
but, i digress...Read More +/-
in the 1860's, we fought a war of ideologies- north versus south. today, we are facing what amounts to the same thing- north versus south, for if you look at the obstruction going on and the damage done over the last decade, much of it has come from the south. in lincoln's time, it came down to a bloody war with bullets. he was elected and sworn in much like president obama- citizens hoped for the best and cast their ballot. what they got was ideologues from both sides dividing the country and ripping it apart. we face a similar situation today.
but we have an edge- most folks in this country are sick and tired of the ugly division. they are tired of hearing hate speech and lies. and while it is unfortunate that these people share the same rights decent citizens do, it is america's legacy. so, what is a decent human being to do in the age of faux noise and hate radio- and apparently, msm who continue to give these yahoos air time?
we can speak the truth.
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts. "
we can counter the lies and spin and attempts at rewriting history with truth and facts- not just on the blogs but with every person we meet. we must have the courage to stand up and not ignore or be embarrassed- but to speak out. it is our duty as citizens in a somewhat free republic. we have a duty to the world to maintain our freedoms because that is what they look to us to do. we used to be the role model for the world- and while we have feet of clay when it comes to following our own principles- we were looked at as the goal to aspire to. we were inspirational.
it is up to us to shoulder the burden of responsibility that president obama has taken on- it is our country too. and,
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
so, my own thought- lincoln was a closet buddhist :) no, probably not but i will say that my mom heard this quote- which started this post- and tells it to my sister every day (my sister's job really sucks but guess what? so does the economy so she stays):
"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be"
and i believe that to be true. i was unhappy for a long time- and it poured out into my journal and my blogging and into my life where i made others unhappy. as thornie and sherry suggest, positive is contagious. if we want to be the change we seek, we have to start somewhere. let's start with inspiring others to be inspirational. it just might work :) namaste.