Drowning

I.

It's strange to think so now,
(especially in a celebratory
year), but Lincoln wasn't
always so popular.

In fact, the thing he's
most regarded for he did
so with reluctance, almost
a measure of last resort.

It was a terrible time
in American life, and
a direct culmination of
circumstances that had
been bubbling since the
second presidential
election. In fact,
Lincoln couldn't even
resolve it himself,
and a later president,
Andrew Johnson, became
the first of the persecuted
chiefs because he tried
to defend Abe's last wishes.

When Lincoln freed the slaves,
he was making a last ditch
effort, an extreme power play
that his Confederate rivals,
for all their bluster,
could never approach, and it
was this final knowledge that
ended a terrible war.

But it was only the beginning.

Great men, and great sacrifices,
always lead toward change,
but the change they seek,
and the course they pursue
will always be divisive,
so that in their wake,
the course floods and
the people find themselves
drowning, not knowing
what to do, even though
the water is, in effect,
exactly the solution.

We trouble ourselves
to find our way.