Happy Birthday, Abe!

When I was a boy they hadn't invented President's Day yet.  I have always suspected it was really a ploy to get one more Monday holiday, and one more opportunity to sell stuff.  cars in particular.  Rather, February saw occasions for celebrating two presidents birthdays, Lincoln's on the twelfth and Washington's on the twenty-second.  I miss those days.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that there are other presidents who we should honor.  Arguably, the office itself is worth a special mention.  But then there are a whole slew of painfully forgettable presidents, who come nowhere close to the profile of a Washington or a Lincoln.  Should we really be lumping them all together like that?

I have always had a soft spot for Lincoln, but it is only in recent years that I have come to fully appreciate Washington.  Most especially I have been convinced the simple fact that he refused a third term sent our nation on a whole different trajectory.  For that act alone we can and should honor him.  But that's alter in the month.  This week it is Honest Abe's moment.  And let's be clear here, he did indeed save the nation from disintegrating.

So happy birthday, Abe!  Thanks for all you did, and for the ways you helped us see a
grander vision of America.  Might we seek to live into more fully in the years ahead!