First of all, let me congratulate all the Commentarama/CommentaramaPolitics-ians on our 6th Anniversary! What a wonderful and thoughtful ride we have had for the last six years. I especially want to thank Andrew for giving me the opportunity to air my thoughts for all of these years and a very special thanks to Kit and all who contribute their inciteful comments and humor year after year. I continue to learn so much and laugh a lot! Also, I would like to add on this Memorial Day 2015, how much I miss our dear LawHawkSF/LawHawkRFD. He is missed every single day.
So, as we go into the official first weekend of "summer" and our seventh year, short of anything ever written by Shakespeare (or Andrew!), below is one of the most memorable speeches ever given commemmorating those who gave and continue to give their lives for the greatest cause of freedom. It was purported to have been written in haste on a train on the way to the brutal battlefield of Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
The crowd expected another long, droning speech, but instead Abraham Lincoln delivered a short three minute speech. But in that that three minutes, the speech Lincoln gave has become one of the most memorable speeches ever given about war and the great sacrifice of those who "gave their full measure of devotion". Bless all of those who give their lives for the great cause freedom and may we never forget their sacrifice.
Bless all those who have served and continue to serve, and those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.
Interesting factoid - "Lincoln was feverish and weak, with a severe headache the day of the speech. A protracted illness followed, which included a vesicular rash and was diagnosed as a mild case of smallpox. It thus seems highly likely that Lincoln was in the prodromal period of smallpox when he delivered the Gettysburg address." [Wikipedia]
So, as we go into the official first weekend of "summer" and our seventh year, short of anything ever written by Shakespeare (or Andrew!), below is one of the most memorable speeches ever given commemmorating those who gave and continue to give their lives for the greatest cause of freedom. It was purported to have been written in haste on a train on the way to the brutal battlefield of Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
The crowd expected another long, droning speech, but instead Abraham Lincoln delivered a short three minute speech. But in that that three minutes, the speech Lincoln gave has become one of the most memorable speeches ever given about war and the great sacrifice of those who "gave their full measure of devotion". Bless all of those who give their lives for the great cause freedom and may we never forget their sacrifice.
Abraham Lincoln - His Address Delivered at the Dedication of the Cemetery at Gettysburg
November 19, 1863
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Bless all those who have served and continue to serve, and those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom.
Interesting factoid - "Lincoln was feverish and weak, with a severe headache the day of the speech. A protracted illness followed, which included a vesicular rash and was diagnosed as a mild case of smallpox. It thus seems highly likely that Lincoln was in the prodromal period of smallpox when he delivered the Gettysburg address." [Wikipedia]
10 comments:
Wow! Six years! Cool! Happy B-day Commentarama Community!
Bev, You're welcome about joining us! You were the first person Lawhawk and I both thought to invite and the place wouldn't be the same without you. Thanks for everything you've done to keep Commentarama a lively, fun place! :D
Woo-hoo! Happy Birthday Commentarama.
A couple random thoughts on the Gettysburg address. In addition to it's poetic brevity and gravity, it's fun to point out that this is probably the only enduring usage of the word "score" to mean "20 years." It also includes a fine example of the often disputed English construction "that that."
Finally, while it might seem ironic that Lincoln said, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here," in one of the most recited speeches of American history (I even had to memorize it in 5th grade), it is true that much of what was said on that day was, in fact, forgotten. In the mid-1800s, lengthy speeches were considered great entertainment, and the Hon. Edward Everett did not disappoint with around 2 hours of oration on that same day. I don't know that I've ever read or heard a word of it.
Hey Tryanmax! That is so true. I doubt it even made it to print.. And I love that part of the story. Everett spoke at such length that when Lincoln took to the podium, the crowd expected another long one and probably groaned a little. I can only imagine what the crowd must have done when he finisthed. I think I would have been stunned into complete silence...and then cheered.
I've always been curious what he sounded like, did he have a deep voice, an accent...? I'm not sure I've ever read anything about that particular trait of Mr. Lincoln.
Congratulations on 6 years...I kinda surfed in here one day following an article by Law Hawk and stayed.
Critch, I rustled up an answer for you: LINK
A few highlights:
- one of the only things that can be said with certainty is that Lincoln was a tenor
- People said that his voice carried into crowds beautifully
- Lincoln’s accent was a blend of Indiana and Kentucky
- "This was a person who truly understood not only the art of writing but also the art of speaking. ...this is a man who wrote to be heard."
Oh, the Libs and Dems are all in a tizzy over at HuffPo because Obama is fast-tracking his trade deal. If this were an actual physical room they all would be running around with their hair on fire from burning their white robes. OMG, They disagree with Obama!!!! They are stunned that now THEY are bigots and racists because they disagree. I mean that must be it, right? Because these same liberals and Democrats have made it pretty clear for the last 7 years that anyone who disagrees with Obama is just a racist and bigot, right?
Bev, That's hilarious. I would love to see them all on fire self-flagellating with those metal things from The Da Vinci Code! LOL
Congratulations Commenterama!
Thanks for all the hard work you guys put into your posts.
I'll never forget LawHawk. God bless him and his family.
Happy birthday Commentarama (better late than never)!
Congratulations Andrew, Bev and Kit! Love your blog. And I also miss LawHawk. I can still remember many of his comments and posts. He was one-of-a-kind.
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