Tomorrow we witness the passing of presidential power from one man to another. I am hopeful it will be peaceful and that our nation will maintain its bonds of unity. I’m banking on it.
I look to Lincoln’s first inaugural address to ensure my wishful thinking isn’t just that. Lincoln tells America:
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
Wishful thinking…. I think I’m full of it even though I’m keenly aware of all the conflict and crisis occurring in our nation, local communities, and homes. Over the past four years, many of us have become enemies with our neighbors. We have been encouraged to divide and pit ourselves against each other. Such division weakens each of us. And it cannot continue.
I may wear rose-colored glasses believing such complex difficulties eventually can be resolved. But tomorrow marks the opportunity to start anew, to search for our common purpose, and move forward together. It may not be easy or quick, but I think our nation will heal. I’m banking on it.
Let us seek again our better angels.
I’m Elsa Glover and that’s my perspective.
