The fact that war and violence are a feature and not a 'bug' of human existence in this world is an ugly and terrible truth. The causes of war are many and varied, but the one root cause is our imperfection as human beings, a condition which will never change. There is nothing glorious about war, nothing that should be honored or praised…
The fact that war and violence are a feature and not a 'bug' of human existence in this world is an ugly and terrible truth. The causes of war are many and varied, but the one root cause is our imperfection as human beings, a condition which will never change. There is nothing glorious about war, nothing that should be honored or praised or revered, except the courage and the sacrifice of those who, when called upon to defend the freedom and liberties of not only themselves but of others whom they do not know and never will, stand and deliver on behalf of that freedom and those liberties, and in doing so often give that last full measure of devotion to the only cause that's worthy of that sacrifice.
The history of our country is one of an imperfect union struggling to become a more perfect one. It has by turns been beautiful and ugly, peaceful and bloody. And sadly, some of that blood has been shed in less than righteous causes, a reflection of our imperfections. And this should chasten and humble us all. But it should not dissuade us from acknowledging that ours is, indeed, the freest nation on the face of the earth, offering the greatest opportunity for the perpetuation of that freedom and the liberties and all the benefits it brings to every single one of us, an opportunity paid for on the soil at Gettysburg and in countless other places since then as well.
Lincoln was, as all of us are, imperfect in some ways, as evidenced by his mistake in saying that the world would little note nor long remember what was said that day all those years ago. That we remember at all speaks to the power of those few words, the power of their perfection in noting what is honorable among men even as they act in less than perfect ways. It is, I believe, a credit to us as a people that most of us understand the importance of those words and understand them in a way that goes to the very marrow of our bones as Americans. But we should also understand that it is our duty to pass that on to those who come after us, lest the words and the ideals they give life to in this world fade and be forgotten. Doing so will be a measure of our own devotion to the cause for which so many gave the fullest one of all.
The fact that war and violence are a feature and not a 'bug' of human existence in this world is an ugly and terrible truth. The causes of war are many and varied, but the one root cause is our imperfection as human beings, a condition which will never change. There is nothing glorious about war, nothing that should be honored or praised or revered, except the courage and the sacrifice of those who, when called upon to defend the freedom and liberties of not only themselves but of others whom they do not know and never will, stand and deliver on behalf of that freedom and those liberties, and in doing so often give that last full measure of devotion to the only cause that's worthy of that sacrifice.
The history of our country is one of an imperfect union struggling to become a more perfect one. It has by turns been beautiful and ugly, peaceful and bloody. And sadly, some of that blood has been shed in less than righteous causes, a reflection of our imperfections. And this should chasten and humble us all. But it should not dissuade us from acknowledging that ours is, indeed, the freest nation on the face of the earth, offering the greatest opportunity for the perpetuation of that freedom and the liberties and all the benefits it brings to every single one of us, an opportunity paid for on the soil at Gettysburg and in countless other places since then as well.
Lincoln was, as all of us are, imperfect in some ways, as evidenced by his mistake in saying that the world would little note nor long remember what was said that day all those years ago. That we remember at all speaks to the power of those few words, the power of their perfection in noting what is honorable among men even as they act in less than perfect ways. It is, I believe, a credit to us as a people that most of us understand the importance of those words and understand them in a way that goes to the very marrow of our bones as Americans. But we should also understand that it is our duty to pass that on to those who come after us, lest the words and the ideals they give life to in this world fade and be forgotten. Doing so will be a measure of our own devotion to the cause for which so many gave the fullest one of all.