With malice toward none, with charity for all

The gray rainy days are making me want escape to somewhere with blue skies and bright sunshine along with warm temperatures. 

Oh wait, I have a place like that in Florida, but I have to work. And this weekend I am heading north to spend Valentines Day with a very special couple--my parents. I hope it doesn't snow. 

Baltimore Weather Forecast February 12-17
WBALTV.com/weather

It is going to be a cold weekend in Maryland, but no rain. There is supposed to be sun, finally. And frigid temperatures. I guess it is good that I am headed north into snow and colder temperatures.

Today, however, is an important day--it is President Lincoln's birthday. He was born February 12, 1809. Of course he is famous as a president and for the Gettysburg Address, but one of his most notable quotes comes from his second inaugural address given March 4, 1865 on the eve of victory in the Civil War:  With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. 

Lincoln's words are a stark contrast from those which we hear on a daily basis it seems coming from the highest halls of Washington, D.C.

Lincoln is generally considered one of the three best presidents along with Washington and Franklin Roosevelt. He died just 42 days into his second term and just about a week after the Civil War was won. I wonder how different our country would be today had he lived to govern over the reconstruction and heal the wounds that led the nation to war. 

Our leaders need to take note of his greatness and his vision for the war torn country. True greatness is embodied in the words: With malice toward none, with charity for all.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Fun Fact--Guess which other famous person was born on February 12, 1809. Answer tomorrow!