I'm making my way through Susan Jacoby's book,
Freethinkers, A History of American Secularism and just came across a quote by President Abraham Lincoln that just drips of the kind of well-reasoned intellect that is so absent from the modern political arena. Jacoby remarks on Lincoln's notoriety for being painfully slow in making decisions. In one instance, shortly before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln responds to the demands of a group of Chicago Christians for an immediate resolution. He says,
"I am approached with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that by religious men, who are equally certain that they represent the Divine will. I am sure that either the one or the other is mistaken in that belief, and perhaps in some respects both. I hope it will not be irreverent for me to say that if it is probably that God would reveal his wills to others, on a point so connected with my duty, it might be supposed he would reveal it directly to me; for, unless I am more deveived in myself than I often am, it is my earnerst desire to know the will of Providence in this matter....These are not, however, the days of miracles, and I suppose it will be granted that I am not to expect a direct revelation. I must study the plain, physical facts of the case, ascertain what is possible and learn what appears to be wise and right."
Its hard to
imagine conceive conjure-up dream of George W. Bush ever being able to deliver such an eloquent statement, much less write it himself. Actually the thought of him even trying to read this statement aloud is worth a good laugh. But more to the point of the substance, I think that the reason I can't even picture Bush enunciating these words is because the very spirit of what Lincoln is saying here runs contrary to everything that Bush apparently believes.
