Abraham Lincoln

Posted on December 7, 2003 in Citizenship

Last night, before I went to bed, I thought about Abraham Lincoln and how he met with every mother and father who came to him asking a pardon for a son who had deserted the Army. The practice of pardoning conscientious objectors has become almost routine after wars and while it impresses me that Lincoln was willing, against the advice of military commanders, to write a brief note to be handed down the chain of command freeing the boy in question, that is not what moved me most in this thought.

Lincoln, like presidents before and after him, was available to talk to his constituents. You — an ordinary citizen — could make an appointment at the White House and talk to the man himself. They weren’t photo opportunities, but private, dignified affairs in which Mr. Lincoln listened to your grievances. You weren’t shuttled through an aide, you weren’t appeased with a machine-signed form letter, you weren’t evaluated as a potential donor to his campaign. You, the American citizen, had the right to talk to your principal employee about matters that concerned you.

How things have changed! How distant we are from those we elect! Put yourself in history for a moment and consider what you have lost. Is it no wonder that the man in the White House now has no true idea about what the American people need and dread, what their dreams are, and what they yearn for?