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The Great Task Remaining Before Us
Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremonies at the Soldiers’ National cemetery. Nov. 19, 1863. 20th century print with modern color. Shutterstock.com
Published in GeneralFour 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 dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field 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 can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not 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, November 19, 1863
@max I can never be reminded of this enough. We stand on the shoulders of men who fought and died for the cause of liberty. It is the most worthy cause. And we will endure – we must endure – as long as there is just one of us willing to keep the torch of freedom from those wishing to extinguish it. Thank you for this apt post.
You must have just watched the Rudy Giuliani press conference on the rigged election! It is jaw dropping – !! One of the final questions asked by a reporter with a British accent was ‘is the United States in an election crisis’ to which Atty. Sydney Powell answered ‘we just had it’. She said people around the world are watching this and it’s the 1775 of our generation! Wow!
I did!
I also recommend the Madison’s Notes podcast on the subject. Right here on the Ricochet Audio Network. (I can’t figure out how to put the link in from the device I’m currently using)
https://ricochet.com/podcast/madisons-notes/lincoln-at-gettysburg-a-conversation-with-allen-c-guelzo/
“A house divided against itself, cannot stand.”
Maybe this Lincoln quote is more appropriate. Our country is bitterly divided, and the main force behind the division is on the left. When they cannot win in the polls, they use the courts. However, now they’ve found they can win in the polls. All it takes is a little creativity, and knowing how many votes they need to overcome . . .
A new birth of freedom. That’s what the whole world could use right now.
Regards,
Jim
Lincoln’s Gettysburg address on this date 157 years ago is profound, stirring, and beautiful. It made little attempt to reconcile Southerners, however. Much time and blood had flowed since the fighting had started and most Americans had given up on the idea of a peaceful reconciliation. He made certain assumptions that were only held by Americans who believed in the cause of union. I find his first inaugural address more relevant to our current situation.
I say that because many today have not given up on the idea of national unity, a position that was also held by many at the time of Lincoln’s first inauguration. Annoyed as I am by the current Democrats’ facile appeal to unity, I read the whole of Lincoln’s speech to try to compare his tone towards his political opponents to that of Mr. Biden and his acolytes towards those who voted against him.
My first reaction was sadness. The body of Lincoln’s speech was a logical presentation of the constitutional rationale for continued union. His words also presented a detailed explanation of how the South’s beliefs could be accommodated in a government led by his incoming administration. Seeing all that in a speech presented to a general audience made me sad because his words illustrated just how much we’ve lost in terms of general constitutional literacy since 1861. A politician today would have to be crazy to expect ideas of that complexity to register with even a tiny fraction of today’s Americans.
Another reaction was bitterness. That bitterness comes from my realization of just how much contempt the Biden camp, in comparison, holds for his political opponents. They believe that he owes so little respect or even accommodation to people like me that he only needs to make a casual reference to unity to get us to acquiesce to his leadership–or at least muffle our unhappiness in the name of national unity.
My final reaction was awe. I’ve never read a more stirring or poetic conclusion to a political speech. The double-metaphor he creates with “chords” still sends shivers down my spine:
You know,I could never understand why Clinton was so bitter and remote on the night of her loss to Donald Trump. I mean, I understood she thought she would win, and she might have been in shock. But still…
But then somebody her on ricochet or elsewhere on social media stated Hillary was just totally pissed the DNC didn’t steal it enough for her. I mean, the DNC totally stole the Primary for her. So how come they were too lazy to do that for her on Election Night?
With that explanation, everything fell into place.
Thank you for reminding all of us of Mr Lincoln’s sometimes ignored call to “the better angels of our nature.” Parts of that writing always give me chills.
I think they underestimated the amount of fraud they needed to commit to put her over the top. That, and they didn’t have the processes in place to do so. They weren’t going to make the same mistake twice, and COVID changes to how people voted were the perfect mechanism to do so.
Sure, they still had to use the “Stop the count so we see how many votes we need to manufacture to win” method, but unverified mail-in ballots – immediately destroyed after their tally – made mass fraud possible . . .