Abraham Lincoln Rolls in his grave...

[WhiskeyGirl]

Interest article -

Heed Lincoln's advice

As we celebrate the Feb. 12 birthday of President Abraham Lincoln, I am reminded of a newspaper clipping that I keep in the front of my Bible. Years ago, while visiting my in-laws in Corpus Christi, I saved this opinion letter from Winogene Peale who was 77 years old at that time. The letter to the editor in her local newspaper was titled, "Nation Should Heed Lincoln's Cannots" and is even more relevant today than it was in the 1990s. Winogene Peale stated the following:

"At the age of 77, I have not become immune to the rhetoric of the liberal editorials the Caller-Times prints ... If you practiced a few of the "cannots" that follow, quoted by Abraham Lincoln, you would do our country a service.

"You cannot bring back prosperity by discouraging thrift.

"You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

"You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

"You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

"You cannot further the brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.

"You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

"Our government was formed from all of the above. Let us keep it that way."

My prayer is that all elected officials from both parties will heed Lincoln's wise words. Our country is at a crossroads, and its future depends on the integrity and character of both our citizens and our politicians. We must pray that all elected officials at local, state and national levels strive to be true statesmen who govern wisely according to the aforementioned advice from President Abraham Lincoln.

Jackie Jones, Longview

http://www.news-journal.com/opin/content/news/opinion/stories/2009/02/07/02072009_letters.html

I think Lincoln would be rolling in his grave at the state of the nation that so many worked so hard to keep together and make better.  Today, all that remains is the highway to hell.

just my humble opinions

[WhiskeyGirl]

Lincoln's Spiritual Legacy

By Charles Colson
Breakpoint Ministry

Thanks to the mass media, few Americans are spared public displays of presidential piety. Every modern president ends his speeches with the words, "God bless America." On Sundays, the TV cameras reveal the president heading off to church, his Bible clutched firmly in hand. Sadly, over the decades however, we've had more and more reason to doubt the sincerity of some of these displays.

But there's one place in Washington where we can see a moving display of genuine presidential piety: the National Cathedral. If you visit the cathedral you will find a statue of Abraham Lincoln poised on his knees.

The statue's pose represents a type of moral leadership that is, sadly, in short supply these days.

Many Americans don't realize that Lincoln actually instituted many forms of public recognition of God that we take for granted today. During his presidency, he declared more days of prayer, fasting, and thanksgiving than any president before or since. And, few realize that our traditional Thanksgiving celebration became a national holiday only after Lincoln's proclamation in 1863.

Yet, despite this pious pedigree, Lincoln was not actually committed to orthodox Christianity until close to the end of his life.

As a young man, Lincoln openly questioned the truth of Scripture, we learn from Marvin Olasky's book, The American Leadership Tradition. Even after he became president, Olasky writes, Lincoln's "god in 1861 and 1862 was [the] Union," not Jehovah.

Then, in 1862, Lincoln's life took a dramatic turn. The war was not going well for the Union, and Lincoln was being savaged in both the Yankee and Confederate press. Personal tragedy struck as well, when his beloved son Willie died suddenly. Lincoln's wife, Mary Todd, turned to spiritism and seances -- but her husband instead sought his solace in the Bible. Confronted with the loss of little Willie and yet another devastating Union defeat at the second Battle of Manassas, a humbled Lincoln finally embraced Christ. "My own wisdom seemed insufficient," he wrote to a friend. I was "driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go."

Lincoln then became a regular church attendee. He became so impressed with the importance of worship that he even refused to permit some churches to be converted into badly needed hospitals.

Facing disunion and slavery, Lincoln saw no easy answers. He became convinced that blame for the war lay on both sides. Faced with the realities of the miserable conflict, he resigned himself to God's providence.

It was the horrors of war that forced him to seek refuge in God; there, he found true peace. Lincoln's words speak for themselves. He told a friend: "When everyone seemed panic-stricken, I got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed. Soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul."

Today many parents are looking desperately for examples of moral leadership -- for people they can hold up as examples for their children to imitate. We need to teach our kids to look beyond the outward signs of piety -- like carrying a Bible in front of TV cameras -- and look for more authentic signs of Christian commitment.

One great example comes from one of our greatest presidents -- the man who was converted to Christ in office -- and sought answers to the most pressing dilemma of the day on his knees.

Order your copy of Marvin Olasky's book, The American Leadership Tradition.

http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAndTheology/Perspectives/colson_lincoln.aspx

[LouiseVargas]

I think Abraham Lincoln would be thrilled to see that President Obama was elected. The entire Civil War was fought to free slaves brought here by slave traders.  I feel his spirit was there at the inauguration. I felt it all the way from Washington DC through the wires to my TV where it jumped out and said Abraham is not rolling in his grave ... no, no, no ... he is dancing with joy.

[WhiskeyGirl]

IIRC from my school days, Lincoln fought to preserve the union, it wasn't about slavery.

"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume V, "Letter to Horace Greeley" (August 22, 1862), p. 388.

"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Letter To Henry L. Pierce and Others" (April 6, 1859), p. 376.

"You think slavery is right and should be extended; while we think slavery is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume IV, "Letter to Alexander H. Stephens" (December 22, 1860), p. 160. (Stephens was the future Confederate vice-president.)

"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just - a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless." Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.

"Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came." Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.

"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." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VII, "Reply to New York Workingmen's Democratic Republican Association" (March 21, 1864), pp. 259-260.

"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything." The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "Fourth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Charleston, Illinois" (September 18, 1858), pp. 145-146.

"I have never said anything to the contrary, but I hold that notwithstanding all this, there is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man. I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects---certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man. " The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume III, "First Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Ottawa, Illinois" (August 21, 1858), p. 16

http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln78.html


I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts. - Abraham Lincoln

That some should be rich, shows that others may become rich, and, hence, is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. - Abraham Lincoln

You may deceive all the people part of the time, and part of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time. - Abraham Lincoln

I don't think Abraham Lincoln is rolling in his grave due to the president that has been elected, it just the other things.

Banking crisis, trampling on the constitution, national debt, the nation crumbling...

[LouiseVargas]

Such a wet blanket. Abraham is happy.
 

[jjayinthemorning]

Don't be naive. Barakah Hussain Obama is a muslim with a plan that is part of bringing down the US economy and weakening the US for future downfall. It started 911 and is falling into place exactly as described to the minute.

[Edward]

Lincoln was a man of intelligent honor
What we are experiencing today is a used car salesman, who is in control of the White House, in my humble opinion.