One thing Americans do very well is package their history for future generations. We visited New Salem, where Lincoln spent the early years on his own, in a log cabin and; toured Springfield, where he lived 17 years before becoming President. To physically visit the log cabin, then a middle class home in the city where his family grew up and then; to contemplate his journey to the White House, is to appreciate a truly amazing journey for a man with one year of formal education. To visit the Lincoln Library and Museum, which was completed just over one year ago, is a truly stirring experience, even for one who is less than enthusiastic about the Americans' propensity to wave the flag.
The examples of Lincoln’s oratorical skills, which we sampled today, lead us to assess the skills of our current crop of politicians and, they are left wanting. The juxtaposition of Lincoln's serious problems with the Civil War and George W. Bush's problems in Iraq, Afghanistan and, the rest of the world is striking! As we left one theatre after listening to snippets of some of Lincoln's speeches, Brenda commented that George W. could take some lessons here.
We are off, tomorrow, to St. Louis and then Memphis, via that Old River Road, to which I referred a few posts ago. According to web schedules that I have consulted, we are about to have another immersion in the blues (B.B. King too!). Oh boy!
In the near future we hope to hit Little Rock, Arkansas. I am looking forward to the comparison of the Lincoln and Clinton Presidential Libraries. I cannot imagine that there will not be interesting comparisons.
The first picture is of a general store owned, for a short period, by Lincoln and a partner (it failed due to competition across the street). The second picture is of Lincoln’s home, for 17 years, in Springfield where he practiced law, prior to being elected President.
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