As we approach the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, I ask each of us to honor the memory of our greatest president. Regardless of your political affiliation when you look back at the time in which Lincoln lived you cannot deny that he was absolutely the right man, at the right time and in the right place.

It is true that many brave and great Americans have followed Lincoln to continue the fight he started, but the important thing to remember is the fight was started. I don't think it could be successfully argued that, without the emergence of Lincoln as the leader of the time, we could have begun to remove the worst stain on our nation's history when we did.

Lincoln was an absolute master of the English language most notably in its spoken form. Always mindful of his audience Lincoln crafted speeches that would not alienate, but at the same time would inspire people to actions they would normally never consider. Unlike politicians before and after Lincoln, he wrote every single word he spoke. He knew exactly what he said when he said it. There was not another soul of this time period that could have moved a country to free slaves, a country in which practically every voter believed they were superior to the black man in every way.

Not to belittle our current leaders, because there are exceptional Americans in our government today, but when was the last time one of them stood up and inspired us to something we did not wish ourselves. Politicians typically say exactly what their constituency expects them to say, which is what we would expect. Lincoln was singularly unique in this regard, for while seeming to say exactly what his audience expected, at the same time he inspired them to an action they would have never reached on their own.

Yes, we must think that slavery would have eventually been eliminated but at the time Lincoln took office political leaders were in the process of making slavery even more difficult to eradicate in the areas it existed. Without Lincoln, simply eradicating slavery would have become increasingly more difficult and might have only been removed through dissolution of the union as we knew it. Nothing could have been truer when Lincoln stated, "a house divided against itself cannot stand", but I would take it one step further and state that a country that was definitely divided against itself could not have continued to stand without the moral compass and leadership of Abraham Lincoln. As Lincoln stated in his second inaugural address, God "gives to both North and South this terrible war " in order to remove the “offense” of slavery from an otherwise great, God fearing nation.

Looking down now I know Lincoln's heart is overflowing with pride as he witnesses the breaking of the final bonds of racial inequality. I can almost see the tears rolling down his craggy face as he thinks of what this nation was put through to break the bonds of chattel slavery.

But on the other hand I can see his disappointment as he hears the term socialism thrown around so easily. I can hear Lincoln as he warns us that, as the weapons of whips and chains enslaved an entire race of people, so those in power would use compassion to enslave an entire nation. Unlike the slavery of our past, socialism happens slowly over many generations. Socialism and communism are like a cancer starting with the weakest and poorest among us and slowly spreading throughout the society. Lincoln would say that over the last two or three generations we have already lost many potential great Americans to the preying of those in power on the weakest elements of human nature.

Throughout time socialism has been used to gain power and control over entire nations. While some have the best of hearts and intentions there are others that, not only see the writing on the wall, but actively engage in writing it in a way most favorable to themselves. Historically socialism has been successful because those living in the moment say that it does not affect them, and in their selfishness, whether intended or not, do not consider that their children might not so readily resist the weaknesses of the human spirit. When thru compassion we try to eliminate the possibility of failure we will at the same time remove the possibility of success. When the safety net is raised to such a level that more and more Americans become satisfied with just relaxing at the level of the net, we begin to lose the American Dream.

As Lincoln realized that racial equality would not occur in his lifetime, even if he had lived a full life, we must begin to understand that it is more important how what we do today affects future generations than ourselves. If Lincoln were our leader today I believe he would begin to reverse our social and political decline, not in the interest of himself and those today, but to protect the American Dream for those to follow.