The Lincoln Memorial

As my eyes glided up his statue, I felt a piercing sense of respect and honor for this simple politician from Illinois.

I turned to my left and let the simple eloquence of the Gettysburg Address brush me. To the right was inscribed Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. This speech was humbly offered on March 4, 1865, as the Union's victory was virtually certain. The words are beautiful, full of hope and forgiveness. But the raw material of the speech is nothing but smoke alone. It is the context of this invocation that merits its notability.

Lincoln, having been stripped of any signs of health or youth, having severally maiming his marriage, and having watched the bloodiest war of U.S. history unfold before him against his deepest pleas, had every earthly right as President to wave the swift and heavy arm of justice upon the South. He never wanted a war. He never even wanted to force the emancipation of slavery. But in a solemn effort to save the God-given union, he fought. He fought not for his own freedom but for the freedom and union of others. Stop and think about that. He was heavily pressured by Radical Republicans, peers, to bring punitive action to the South. Yet, we see His speech. His speech, in which he rhetorically knelt down and humbly forgave the South, welcomes back all to the United States of America. Think of that! What a man. What a leader. What a man of God. Quiet mercy in the cacophony of justice.

After this stunning act of love--just five weeks later--this special man was shot in the skull in cold blood resulting in a long, agonizing death.

Here is a man who strove for unity in a divided country. Here is a man who honored the rule of law and who defended the Constitution even when it meant honoring his vehement enemy of slavery. Here is a life bathed in sacrifice for his country, for others, for everything but himself.

I couldn't help but cry as a flood of gratitude for this man washed over me, chocking me with emotion. This monument will always be a special place for me.