Thursday 21 October 2021

Lincoln’s Choice: Eternal Rule or Suicide

“If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.” ~ Abraham Lincoln, 1838

These words from Lincoln make me think of a line that is attributed to King Louis XV of France: "Après moi, le déluge.” Louis XV was convinced that if he was not the King, the world would die in a deluge—everyone would commit suicide.

Lincoln’s is offering an insane choice: to live through all time (as if one were an everlasting God) or die by suicide (as if there is no hope of a comeback after defeat).

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