One hundred fifty years ago

On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was shot as he sat in Ford's Theater watching a play.  He died in the early morning on April 15.  The young country, which had just endured four years of war and was looking forward to peace, now had to deal with death of the President.  The man who called on his fellow citizens to dedicate themselves to ensuring "that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth" had himself perished.  The man who wanted to "bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations" would not be able to help his torn country reunite.

We, as a country, do not commemorate these days.  We used to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday as a holiday, but then a decision was made to combine Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays into President's Day.   Perhaps it is fitting that the "father of our country" and the man responsible for saving the Union are celebrated on the same day.  So why should we recall the day Lincoln was assassinated?  Or the day he died?  Why think about Abraham Lincoln at all?

President Abraham Lincoln believed that the United States of America could not and must not be divided.  Rather than allow the southern States leave the Union, he called on the citizens of the northern States to come together and preserve the Union.  Certainly letting the States secede might have been easier than engaging in a war.  But he could not allow this "last, best hope of earth" to fail because he feared it would be the end of any chance of democratic government.  He understood the horror of a war the lasted much longer than anyone expected.  Photographs of Abraham Lincoln throughout his term as President show the toll the conflict took on him.  But he was determined to preserve the Union.

So why should we care about Abraham Lincoln?  Because he showed us what determination can do.  He was primarily self-taught with little formal education, yet his words are often included in literature books.  Despite being ridiculed and insulted, Lincoln kept moving forward.  He showed us that against all odds, we can achieve more than is expected of us.  Most important is that he cared about us, yes, us in this century.  He wanted to ensure that our country, our democracy, continued and he died for his beliefs.

Shouldn't we care enough about him to recall his assassination and death?  Shouldn't we care enough about him to dedicate ourselves to preserving our country and not allowing The United States of America to be once again torn apart by those who want to stop us from moving even one step closer to the ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence?