Our Most Eloquent President

William Seward wrote, "guardian angel of the nation."  Our most eloquent President changed that to "the better angels of our nature."  Seward suggested "ancient music."  The President-elect decided on "mystic chords of memory."

Instead of "87 years ago" or even "In 1776," he penned "Four score and seven years ago...."

Gee, did I fool anyone?  Of course, despite the silly rhetoric about our current President, Abraham Lincoln remains, hands down, our most eloquent President.

And there are other lessons to be learned other than not believing what the Kool-Aid drinkers write and say.  Lincoln didn't just write these things off the top of his head.  He often thought and thought, over days and sometimes weeks, about what he'd write or say.  He researched his ideas and, frequently submitted them (as he did to Seward) to others to discover better ideas, if there were any.  That is, he worked hard at what he wrote and said because, as he knew, ideas and words matter.  He was tolerant of different ideas, listening to them, perhaps finding them to be superior to his own, in small ways or big.  Opposition should not be silenced (although I'm familiar with the contradictions Lincoln had in the Civil War, perhaps justifiable under the circumstances!).

I'm really appreciative that one of my students gave me a book of Lincoln's speeches.  I, of course, can find them in different books.  But this book of Lincoln's speeches has them all together, in one place.