Better Angels
- Jill Miller
- Aug 24, 2017
- 3 min read
Better Angels
Blog – 7-6-17
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about a family trip to the Black Hills. While we were there, we went to Mount Rushmore. I’ve been there tons of times, but something really caught my heart this trip. One of the plaques on the trail that goes below the faces had a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address. Abraham Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents, and his writing blows me away. It’s so real, so sincere, so heartfelt. Here is what it said:
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.
First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
Wow! Those words written over 150 years ago pierced my soul as I realized they could easily have been written today.
It hurts my heart to think what the brave men and women who lie in those “patriot graves” Lincoln talked about would have to say about how we are conducting ourselves today. Social media is turning us into enemies all over again. We are so busy fighting between the right and the left, the wrong and the right, we have forgotten that we are all on the same team!
Please hear me, I hate being political, and I am not advocating for one side or the other. I am simply sharing my heart. I still believe in this country, and I guess you could say I am a patriot through and through. I know without a doubt there is nowhere else on earth that I would ever want to live, and I truly appreciate the sacrifices that have been made to give us the freedom to live here…in freedom.
My prayer is that we would heed the words of this very wise man and listen to the “better angels of our nature,” agree to disagree, and maintain respect for one another, even when we don’t see eye-to-eye.
The song did get written, and I’ve included lyrics below. Here is a YouTube link where you can listen it.
My only reason for sharing this is to encourage us to come together as “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Better Angels Words and music by Jill Miller © 2017
Truth needs to come alive again We are not enemies, but friends Passions are running high But affection cannot die
With liberty the song for all Together we’ll keep standing tall As we defend, preserve, protect Show each and everyone respect
The mystic chords of memory cry from the grave Sing the song of freedom their blood was shed to save May the nation that they died for never waver As we listen to the better angels of our nature
Living in this favored land I feel my Father’s holy hand May His love rain down And feed this thirsty ground
The mystic chords of memory cry from the grave Sing the song of freedom their blood was shed to save May the nation that they died for never waver As we listen to the better angels of our nature
Old Glory, long may you wave In this land of the free, home of the brave
The mystic chords of memory cry from the grave Sing the song of freedom their blood was shed to save May the nation that they died for never waver As we listen to the better angels May we listen to the better angels of our nature
Thanks so much for listening!
Hugs and love,
Jill
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