Seven score and ten

THINKING ABOUT LINCOLN

AT GETTYSBURG

One of the only two confirmed photos of Abraham Lincoln (circled)
at Gettysburg, taken about noon, just after Lincoln arrived
and about three hours before his brief speech.

Thinking about Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” today and concluding that, most of the time, when we let the recollection of those famous 272+/- words run through our heads in a sort of rote “Four score and seven” triggered way, we risk missing the point, even from our historically informed viewpoint.

Yes, the “address” is about the awful carnage and honoring the sacrifice of those who died for a great and noble cause.

 

But when we see it only as “history” --

… and commemorate the passage of 150 years with anniversary lip service

… and conclude that the great mind and heart of Lincoln these few words synthesize has become our 21st Century reality

-- we do Lincoln, the address, the history and ourselves a great disservice.

If you’re inclined to give it some time today, as you re-read it, note how often Lincoln has repeated the word “here” and consider, as I have concluded, it is not simply an orator’s device and doesn’t simply mean “a portion of that field” in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863.

 

Rather, Lincoln’s “here” speaks across the seven score and ten years to the ever present here and  now and endlessly into the future and calls us -- “the living” -- to continued commitment to meaningful deeds, devotion and action in the service of whatever great and unfinished cause lies before us.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com  

The New York Times article from November 20, 1863.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #414

HOW TO PREVENT A HOSTILE TAKEOVER

Ben Franklin observed: “Anger is never without a reason” -- dramatic pause – 

“But seldom a good one.”

Sure, in the heat of the moment our reasons for firing up the anger reaction seem, well, perfectly reasonable and good. To us.

• Irritated by that jerk who cut you off on the highway?
• Plotting your revenge on the simpleton at the meeting who took all the credit for your group’s accomplishments?
• Baffled by the mindset of the parents – let alone the kids – who walk around in public looking like that!?

Me too. On any given day we don’t have to wait too long to find an excuse to blow our top.

Sigmund sez: If you allow it, the mind easily fills with the most convincing, self-righteous, inner arguments for becoming indignant.

So maybe Freud didn’t say that specifically but … 

Contemporary psychologists agree: Dr. Daniel Goleman, pioneering writer on behavioral matters and themes of Emotional Intelligence, points out:

“Anger is the most seductive of the negative emotions. Anger is energizing, even exhilarating.”

It can also be incredibly destructive.

Fight-or-Flight Club. Anger’s physical manifestations are associated with the “fight or flight” response – largely the “fight” part. The universal trigger for anger Dr. Goleman says, is a sense of being endangered. Not only a menacing physical threat but also “it can be a symbolic threat to self-esteem or dignity, being treated unjustly or rudely, being insulted or demeaned or being frustrated in pursuing an important goal.” And –

It’s a killer. The infamous Type-A behavior, to be specific.

While anger defenders might argue that blowing your cork is a health-preserving emotional outlet, scientific studies identify the hostile, harmful traits of Type A as cynicism, anger and aggression. And that level of hostility can –

… magnify the impact of blood cholesterol levels thereby increasing the chance of clogging arteries

… weaken immune systems (never a good thing) and parasympathetic nervous systems, which act to calm the rush of fight-or-flight hormones

… make folks feel unhappy, socially isolated and more stressed

But please don’t be angry with me. Because TGIM is here to also bring you –

Good News: “Hostility is a habit that can change if you apply some emotional intelligence, combining being mindful of when it is aroused, regulating it once it has begun and practicing empathy – hearing the feelings behind what is said,” Dr. Goleman says.

“Trusting others goes a long way toward diffusing hostility,” he adds. “Practicing a variety of strategies can help you change biological patterns of behavior that you may have been born with but don’t have to die from.” 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Before the stress in your life triggers its next gnashing-your-teeth reaction and stages another emotional hijacking that threatens both physical health and relationships, try some of these anger-altering approaches to turn away from anger:

►Avoid venting. Despite the widespread belief that the best way to get rid of anger is to express it, it’s not. In fact, catharsis – giving vent to rage – typically pumps up the brain’s arousal leaving people feeling more angry, not less.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Prepare for a mindset of neither venting nor suppressing anger. Recognize when you feel anger coming on. But don’t jump to get rid of it. Aim for the middle. Acknowledge what you feel and become aware of the effects on your body. With luck that will take you out of focusing on what’s happening in your mind.

►Nip anger in the bud. Challenge the assumptions that fuel anger in the first place. The earlier in the anger cycle the better.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Here’s an easy one: That jerk who cut you off in traffic. Maybe he had to swerve out of the way of the jerk in front of him. If that’s so, wouldn’t your anger be unjustified. Might you not be grateful that his quick action prevented a three car (or more) pile-up with you in it?

►Quit the Master of the Universe job. Psychologists say that hostile and angry people feel stress when they have to let go of being in charge because of their cynical distrust of others. If that’s you in any way, begin to reverse the situation by relinquishing control in small inconsequential matters.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Let someone else pick the restaurant. Figure you’ll adjust your ordering accordingly. Let someone else drive (at least on the short-distance, local outings). Think of it as a cost-free cab ride. (Still, remember to buckle up.)

►Take a chill pill. Out of sight is easier to put out of mind. Remove the immediate reminder of what riles you. If it won’t leave, remove yourself. 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Ease away. Walk, but probably don’t run. With an understanding of fight-or-flight, walk away from what irks you and keep walking. The exercise can’t hurt and it will also distract you as you pay attention to the changing landscape along the way.

►Be assertive, not aggressive. Modulating anger doesn’t mean allowing your view to be stepped on or ignoring injustice. Assertiveness, rather than flat out aggressive confrontation, allows you to ask others to change a specific behavior without demanding it. KISS – Keep It Short & Simple. Also keep it concise and specific.

"Benjamin Franklin
Drawing Electricity from the Sky"
by Benjamin West (1738-1820)
Philadelphia Museum of Art 

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: So, for the floor-grabbing meeting room interrupter, a well-intoned, “Will you please let me finish what I’m saying?” should be assertive enough to establish your control. Preface it with a show of controlled understanding of the other person’s point of view – “I’d like to address all your points as I understand them before you react, Dave …” and you’ll gain respect as well as attention. 

And speaking of attention … 

Thanks for yours.

And with a nod to Ben, who instead of telling someone in anger to “Go fly a kite” actually did and made history –

I’ll bring this TGIM message to a close – happily.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com 

P.S.  BONUS ACTION IDEA: ►Write it off. Literally. Put some time and gain some perspective before lashing out in anger. Capture cynical or hostile thoughts as they arise and write them down. In this way you can reappraise and challenge their foundations in a reasonable and reasoned fashioned. 

Good enough for Honest Abe. Lincoln did this most famously. Civil War buffs know he occasionally wrote angry, piercing letters, had second thoughts and pigeonholed them in his desk, never to be sent.

Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals chronicles a classic:

Later that afternoon, Lincoln wrote a frank letter to General Meade ... (stating) that he was “distressed immeasurably” by “the magnitude of the misfortune involved in (Gen. Robert E.) Lee's escape. He was within your easy grasp, and to have closed upon him would, in connection with our other late successes, have ended the war. As it is, the war will be prolonged indefinitely.” Before sending the letter, which he knew would leave Meade disconsolate, Lincoln held back as he often did when he was upset or angry, waiting for his emotions to settle. In the end, he placed the letter in an envelope inscribed: “To Gen. Meade, never sent, or signed.”

Thank Goodness It's Monday #396

CASHING IN ON HONEST ABE

The acclaimed film “Lincoln” leads this year’s Oscar race with 12 nominations. Since its release in November, it’s grossed roughly $250 million worldwide at the box office by my rough and quick to-date tally.

So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to cash in on that popularity.

While it’s been a bit of a TGIM Tradition to commemorate Presidents Day by acknowledging that the Federal holiday is supposed to be inclusive of all the holders of the office, today I’m concentrating on the 16th president –

Abraham Lincoln



The Lincoln statue at the foot of the Essex County NJ Courthouse steps

in Newark, NJ was created by the world-renowned sculptor

Gutzon Borglum.

Portraying a weary Lincoln during the darkest hours of the Civil War,

the bronze statue is one-third larger than life-size.

Theodore Roosevelt attended the statue's dedication ceremony,

held in 1911.

 

Borglum's most celebrated work – or is it works? -- are his 60-feet tall carvings
of the heads of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt
at Mt Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

►Honest Abe

►The Rail Splitter

►The Great Emancipator

►The Liberator

►The Sage of Springfield

►Father Abraham and Uncle Abe

►The Uncommon Friend of the Common Man 

His enemies called him The Ape. 

His White House staff fondly called him The Tycoon and insiders called him The Ancient One for his wisdom.

Speaking of his ancestry, Lincoln once remarked: I don’t know who my grandfather was, and I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.

Of course, we know the notable and noble fulfillment of this “concern” of Lincoln’s.

In addition to the February birthday of our Founding Father and first President, George Washington, it’s primarily Lincoln (also a February birthday, February 12, 1809) who provides the basis for observing a rounded-off-to-Monday federally prescribed Presidents Day holiday today.

And since it is a holiday – I’m not going to tie up too much of your time. And I’m giving myself a break as well. I’m not going to write too much more “original” for this TGIM. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: I’m defaulting to Lincoln’s own words in the expectation they can provide guidance and inspiration suitable to our challenges in our times. I’m going to try to avoid what my aging memory tells me are commonly known quotes or those that are most directly to the issues of the Civil War and share with you Lincoln thoughts that will lead to new personal insights.

Let’s start with a standard Lincoln clearly set for himself:

… men should utter nothing for which they could not willingly be responsible through time and eternity.

And –

I am very little inclined on any occasion to say anything unless I hope to produce some good by it.

Likewise for this TGIM. So let’s continue:

If we could at first know where we are, and wither we are tending, we could better judge what we do, and how to do it.

Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.

I have never had a policy. I have simply tried to do what seemed best each day, as each day came.

I have not willingly planted a thorn is any man’s bosom.

Reputation is like fine china: Once broken it's very hard to repair.

Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.

Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.

I say “try”; if we never try, we shall never succeed.

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.

Half-finished work generally proves to be labor lost.

I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.

I shall try to correct errors where shown to be errors, and I shall adopt new views as fast as they shall appear to be true views.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other thing.

When I am getting ready for an argument, I spend one third of my time thinking about what I am going to say, and two thirds about what my opponent will say.

 

Every man has his own peculiar and particular way of doing things, and he is often criticized because that way is not the one adopted by others. The great idea is to accomplish what you set out to do.

Let us dare to do our duty as we understand it.

I consider my TGIM duty for today done.

Inspired by the spirit of “The Uncommon Friend of the Common Man,” please do your duty – this Presidents Day and daily -- likewise.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com



Several days after the state convention,
the Republican Party held its national convention
in Chicago and nominated Lincoln for president.
Lincoln did not actively campaign for office (as was the custom),
but his supporters staged a lively campaign.
An unknown artist created this mythical, life-size portrait of
Lincoln the Railsplitter to be used at public rallies. 
Note that there’s an image of the White House
on the distant horizon.

P.S. On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected sixteenth president of the United States. He won as “The Railsplitter” candidate, a nickname acquired the previous May when Illinois Republicans convened at Decatur to endorse a favorite son for president.

Lincoln was the likely choice but his supporters felt he needed a catchier nickname than “Old Abe” or “Honest Abe.” Thus, Richard J. Oglesby and John Hanks, a first cousin of Lincoln’s mother, located a split-rail fence supposedly built by Lincoln in 1830. When they walked into the hall carrying two of the rails—decorated with flags, streamers, and a sign that read, “Abraham Lincoln/The Rail Candidate”—the crowd went wild.

 

Although Lincoln claimed he could not say for certain that he had split those particular rails, he said that “he had mauled many and many better ones since he had grown to manhood.” By now, Lincoln was a prominent lawyer, not a backwoodsman. But, he had split rails in his youth, and the image held enormous appeal to voters (all male) who shared similar backgrounds and cultural beliefs about the merits of hard work and self-reliance.