I have always admired Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of our United States. Here was a man who was given a horrible set of circumstances and against all odds succeeded.
You see Abraham Lincoln was born in poverty. How does one go from being part of a family who actually farmed on land that did not belong to them to becoming the President of the United States? Perseverance.
That is a key part of the make up of any good leader. The ability to continue on through the hard times, to not give up and to persevere. Lincoln had those qualities from an early age. Although poor his family never gave up and worked to improve themselves. Although Lincoln had no formal education in his youth, he studied and worked and eventually became a lawyer. Although he had no political family ties he served politically in his home state of Illinois for many years. Although he did not look the part of a politician with his gaunt features and scarecrow build he was an able debater and skilled orator.
Without Perseverance and Lincoln's leadership, this United States would not be, united. Even before his inauguration, South Carolina had succeeded from the Union. Upon his taking of office, five other states joined them in making up the Confederacy. From the moment he took office Lincoln's one goal was for the Union to persevere. Though the coming months and years would be a great testing time for this country, the leader of the country bore the brunt of the burden. His decisions and his decrees would chart the course for future generations. Throughout his time in office Lincoln's main concern was not to win the war, to free the slaves but for the perseverance of the Union.
Too many leaders today give up when things don't go quite right for them. They pack up and run when the first sign of trouble ends up at their door. They are unwilling to fight for what they believe in. When you talk about what caused the Civil War one topic is the standard answer, slavery. But in Lincoln's mind the tearing apart of the Union was the trigger to war, and the only positive outcome was the mending of the Union. Lincoln was willing to allow the thing he held the dearest, the one thing he cherished above all else, to be subjected to the horrors of war so that he could see it persevere.
Many leaders today throw in the towel once once it all hits the fan. Unwilling to stand up for their beliefs they drift away leaving their followers standing on the front lines without any support what so ever. That is probably the one thing that bothers me about cowardly leaders, they run away when the going gets tough, but their followers never get the message to retreat and are stuck on the front lines, with cannon fire raining down upon them wondering what happened to the person who led them there.
I love Lincoln's quote on unity, in one of his most famous speeches, he said: "A house divided against itself cannot stand". So to achieve unity, to see his Union persevere he made some hard choices regarding the South which led to the War between the States. Lincoln's primary aim was neither to provoke war nor to maintain peace. In preserving the Union, he would have been glad to preserve the peace also, but he was ready to risk a war for the preservation of the Union. It would have been an easy decision to allow the South to succeed, thereby breaking up the Union. It would have alleviated years of war and suffering, but at what cost?
Many leaders today are afraid of conflict, afraid of upsetting the status quo, but a great leader will examine the situation and make decisions based on the circumstances, not upon fear of reprisal. Lincoln did that, even with the fear of a Civil War he made the tough decisions that he felt were in the best interest of the Union. History proved him right, this United States has became the greatest nation in the world today. But without the leadership of Abraham Lincoln these United States would very possibly not be around today.
You see Abraham Lincoln was born in poverty. How does one go from being part of a family who actually farmed on land that did not belong to them to becoming the President of the United States? Perseverance.
That is a key part of the make up of any good leader. The ability to continue on through the hard times, to not give up and to persevere. Lincoln had those qualities from an early age. Although poor his family never gave up and worked to improve themselves. Although Lincoln had no formal education in his youth, he studied and worked and eventually became a lawyer. Although he had no political family ties he served politically in his home state of Illinois for many years. Although he did not look the part of a politician with his gaunt features and scarecrow build he was an able debater and skilled orator.
Without Perseverance and Lincoln's leadership, this United States would not be, united. Even before his inauguration, South Carolina had succeeded from the Union. Upon his taking of office, five other states joined them in making up the Confederacy. From the moment he took office Lincoln's one goal was for the Union to persevere. Though the coming months and years would be a great testing time for this country, the leader of the country bore the brunt of the burden. His decisions and his decrees would chart the course for future generations. Throughout his time in office Lincoln's main concern was not to win the war, to free the slaves but for the perseverance of the Union.
Too many leaders today give up when things don't go quite right for them. They pack up and run when the first sign of trouble ends up at their door. They are unwilling to fight for what they believe in. When you talk about what caused the Civil War one topic is the standard answer, slavery. But in Lincoln's mind the tearing apart of the Union was the trigger to war, and the only positive outcome was the mending of the Union. Lincoln was willing to allow the thing he held the dearest, the one thing he cherished above all else, to be subjected to the horrors of war so that he could see it persevere.
Many leaders today throw in the towel once once it all hits the fan. Unwilling to stand up for their beliefs they drift away leaving their followers standing on the front lines without any support what so ever. That is probably the one thing that bothers me about cowardly leaders, they run away when the going gets tough, but their followers never get the message to retreat and are stuck on the front lines, with cannon fire raining down upon them wondering what happened to the person who led them there.
I love Lincoln's quote on unity, in one of his most famous speeches, he said: "A house divided against itself cannot stand". So to achieve unity, to see his Union persevere he made some hard choices regarding the South which led to the War between the States. Lincoln's primary aim was neither to provoke war nor to maintain peace. In preserving the Union, he would have been glad to preserve the peace also, but he was ready to risk a war for the preservation of the Union. It would have been an easy decision to allow the South to succeed, thereby breaking up the Union. It would have alleviated years of war and suffering, but at what cost?
Many leaders today are afraid of conflict, afraid of upsetting the status quo, but a great leader will examine the situation and make decisions based on the circumstances, not upon fear of reprisal. Lincoln did that, even with the fear of a Civil War he made the tough decisions that he felt were in the best interest of the Union. History proved him right, this United States has became the greatest nation in the world today. But without the leadership of Abraham Lincoln these United States would very possibly not be around today.
No comments:
Post a Comment