A retired US Marine officer with whom I corresponded asked, \u201cWhat type of crisis do you think will cause the intellectual right to form a critical mass \u2013 if that is even possible?\u201d I wrote back, \u201cLincoln\u2019s Second Inaugural is chiseled on the wall of his monument, and he said all that needs to be said. If they won\u2019t take it from Lincoln, why would they take it from us?\u201d But it\u2019s Lincoln\u2019s birthday, and it\u2019s time for another try. <\/p>\n
Abraham Lincoln is America\u2019s least popular president. It seems odd to say this given the near-deification of a man who was born in a log cabin but whose image resides in a mock-up of the Temple of Zeus at Olympus. But Americans remain horrified at what he actually said, namely that we do not control our own destinies, but are subject to a providence that is \u201cjust and righteous altogether\u201d, even if it makes terrible demands upon us. <\/p>\n