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06-26-2013, 12:46 PM,
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RE: Why was Lincoln "great?"
I think that like Lincoln so much because he came from little but came out triumphant. Even though he did some questionable things in office, all of that is overshadowed by his death. In addition I think there is an important repoint tools when considering he legacy of other great presidents or figures within history! (Not saying anything against Obama lovers) but another reason why we like Lincoln so much is because he actually related to the people. He come not from an esteemed family on the upper east side but from Harding county Kentucky. Unlike majority of our presidents and even some politicians, Lincoln worked hard mentally and physically to get where ended up. A surveyor, mill worker, and a lawyer .... I can't think of another president tht related to the commoner as well as he did! Plus I've got to like the guy .... I live in the city that was named after him.... And I don find any coincidences that it is the capital of "The Good Life"
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04-05-2014, 03:07 AM,
(This post was last modified: 04-05-2014, 03:32 AM by LincolnToddFan.)
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LincolnToddFan
Legendary Member
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Posts: 1,247
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Joined: Mar 2014
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RE: Why was Lincoln "great?"
He had the hide of a rhino...he must have, to have been able to withstand the almost constant vicious attacks on his character. He was under almost an inhuman amount of pressure from the time he took the oath of office as President, until he sat down in that rocker at Ford's Theater on the night of April 14th, 1865. Yet he never became self-pitying like Lyndon Johnson. He never resorted to a vindictive, paranoid "enemies list" a la Richard Nixon. During the fierce storm he remained what he had been all his life...generous, tough, dreamy, pragmatic, visionary.
Deep inside, he must have realized that he was the intellectual superior of everyone around him, yet he was never arrogant or condescending to "lesser" men. He took and accepted everyone as he found them.
His iron will is part of his legend, but so is his tender heartedness. The same man who could order hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths in battle could also weep and grieve for them, and be haunted by their ghosts in his dreams. He would contrive to issue pardons to deserters who had been condemned to the firing squad.
How many "tyrants" cuddle kittens on their lap, and fret about them being hungry and lonely in the midst of orchestrating an army to victory during a bloody, divisive civil war?
Humility, dazzling intellect,political brilliance, toughness, magnanimity, pathos, humor, almost freakish physical strength combined with the gentleness of a child, flawed and overwhelmingly human...who else can we think of in American political life who embodied all those qualities in one person?
If AL isn't great, I don't know who is.
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04-15-2014, 09:34 AM,
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RE: Why was Lincoln "great?"
Lincoln was great because he understood what it meant to be "united" as one. We were a fledgeling nation but it took one man and his cabinet, along with trust steer us where we are today. I think we as Americans get caught up in the George Washington's and Richard Obama's of our history, but we forget those very important ones in between that guided us through tough times. Taking on a Civil War is very difficult, and not everyone has the knowledge and perseverance that Lincoln had to get through it. Look at the Russian Civil War and what came out of that and tell yourself, were Lincoln and his cabinet better or worse than the Russian legislature back then. Besides, I think personally that Lincoln had morals . . . something that not all leaders posses.
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04-18-2014, 08:56 AM,
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Craig Hipkins
Forum Master
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Posts: 494
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Joined: Jul 2012
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RE: Why was Lincoln "great?"
(04-15-2014, 09:34 AM)Matt Macoubrie Wrote: Lincoln was great because he understood what it meant to be "united" as one. We were a fledgeling nation but it took one man and his cabinet, along with trust steer us where we are today. I think we as Americans get caught up in the George Washington's and Richard Obama's of our history, but we forget those very important ones in between that guided us through tough times. Taking on a Civil War is very difficult, and not everyone has the knowledge and perseverance that Lincoln had to get through it. Look at the Russian Civil War and what came out of that and tell yourself, were Lincoln and his cabinet better or worse than the Russian legislature back then. Besides, I think personally that Lincoln had morals . . . something that not all leaders posses.
I think you hit the nail on the head Matt! Today's leaders seem to be totally self absorbed and don't possess the moral fiber that people like Lincoln had. Lincoln was not perfect. He had his flaws just like everyone else, but I believe that he at least had a genuine sympathy and love for people. I think that this can best be seen with his many pardons to soldiers during the Civil War which other leaders would have been hesitant to meddle with.
Craig
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Why was Lincoln "great?"
