Presidents’ Day Reflection: Winnie Pooh, Abe Lincoln, and the Better Angels of Our Nature

Presidents’ Day Reflection: Winnie Pooh, Abe Lincoln, and the Better Angels of Our Nature February 20, 2017

I regularly commune with Abraham Lincoln and the residents of the 100 Aker Wood. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t hold séances here on Cape Cod, nor do I hear voices from stuffed animals and deceased presidents. But, I do regularly ponder the spirit of Lincoln and my friends from the 100 Aker Wood.

Yesterday in my “Words for All God’s Children” aka “Children’s Sermon” at South Congregational Church, UCC, Centerville, Massachusetts, I invoked President Lincoln’s first inaugural address as a model for their own interactions. In a time of war, Lincoln sought a higher wisdom for the nation:

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

No truer words have ever been spoken by a president of the United States. In this time of polarizing, bullying, and fake news perpetuated from the highest levels of government, we need to live by a higher standard. These days, we cannot let our ethics be determined by our leaders; we must set the bar much higher in terms of honesty, integrity, hospitality, ethics, and patriotism. We must set the bar high in terms of civility. Lincoln knew that leadership is about integrity and inclusion, even of your enemies. It is about following the highest good in our private and public lives, even if it isn’t politically expedient. A master politician and fallible person, who led a brutal war, Lincoln still sought to mend bridges with rivals, opponents, and even the seditious Confederacy.

A.A. Milne captured this same spirit in the 20th century. Woodland creatures are occasionally at odds, but when push comes to shove, they choose the well-being of community over personal gain. Piglet is the hero of the book in many ways: Small and Anxious, he nevertheless saves Owl and Pooh when Owl’s house crashes to the ground and later gives up his own home to provide shelter for the homeless owl. Sure, mistakes are made and misunderstandings occur, but eventually everyone does the right thing.
Today, we need to look toward our great leaders of our nation’s history – to the wisdom of George Washington, the stature and compassion of Lincoln, the environmentalism of Teddy Roosevelt, the courage of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the self-transcendence on civil rights of Lyndon Johnson, the buoyancy of Ronald Reagan, and the dignity and integrity of Barack Obama. These are models that any leader must look to as he or she seeks to go beyond self-interest and ego to serve the nation and the planet.
The story is told of a conversation Lincoln had in the final days of the Civil War. His companion asked, “What will you do with the South now that the war is over?” He expected vengeance and punishment, but was shocked when Lincoln responded, “I will treat them as if they’d never left.”

On Presidents’ Day, hundreds of thousands will protest the policies and persona of the 45th President. May they protest with grace and peace as well as passion. May the President listen to their words – and the words of the Women’s March and Immigrant protests – and not count crowd size. May the President realize that opponents are often better policy guides than allies and court preachers. May we, regardless of politics, let go of the need to have “enemies” – whether we are talking about the press, protesters, or the President – and look for the higher angels in ourselves and pray that these better angels come forth in those with whom we disagree. Today, let us welcome the peaceable realm of Pooh, Piglet, Christopher Robin, and their friends, and let us seek to be a people of grace, dignity, and justice.


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