Veterans Day 11.11.26

I took a moment and read the following – slowly, out loud. 

“We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shat not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

As I reread this passage on this Veteran’s Day, I paused to absorb each sentence and each idea being conveyed. And the following thoughts came to mind.

Our wonderful and great Nation is messy. Each one of us is messy – walking contradictions. And when we put all of us together, we are one big mess.  James Madison, responsible for the creation of our constitution, realized this. He feared that the experiment to unite this one big mess would fail if we did not have a stronger federal government with a well-articulated list of responsibilities with checks and balances. And then the Bill of Rights (The first 10 amendments) was added to ensure that this thing (Strong Federal Government) that would hold us together would not infringe on our personal liberties. He wrote “A crisis had arrived which was to decide whether the American experiment was to be a blessing to the world, or to blast forever the hopes which the republican cause had inspired.”

Because of that great document, we have not only survived, but thrived. And we do this by going through periods of rebirth. And like any birth, these periods have been painful but have resulted in, as Lincoln stated, “a new birth of freedom”. The Revolution, the Civil War, the Progressive Era of the early 1900’s, and the tumultuous 1960’s all produced more freedoms and protections for large swaths of our society. 

During our existence as a Nation, people have given their lives, or as Lincoln articulated, “the last full measure of their devotion” to ensure that this grand experiment, known as the United States of America, does not parish from the earth. And with it the idea that every person, no matter their station in life, have the right to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that each person is also responsible for ensuring that their neighbors have those same rights. 

I am so grateful for those souls who were so devoted to those ideals that they were willing to give their lives so that we enjoy those personal liberties. As the living, it is our responsibility, as Lincoln stated, “to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” 

We, who have inherited this great legacy, should not confuse what we want to do with what we need to do to ensure that the unfinished work of this experiment proceeds. Like ourselves, our country is a living contradiction. Our job, as citizens, is to not only help ourselves, but also our country, to be less so. This is a great task indeed. But this is how we honor those who came before us.