Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln
Meditation
Celebrations are opportunities to remember and to clarify our resolve. On this Independence Day weekend in the US, Lincoln’s words recall us to “a new birth of freedom”. Lincoln recalls also that our consecration of ideals is manifest not in words but in action, in our dedication to the unfinished work that is before us. One need not die in battle to give the full measure of devotion, for the increase of devotion may be shown in many actions, large and small. Independence for what? For the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed with liberty. Let us not only look back, but forward in renewed dedication. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, wherever we may be.
Todd Breyfogle, Denver, Colorado
