Which Side Are You On?
Celebrating Thanksgiving this year is difficult for some and joyous for others. Perhaps this has always been the case depending upon our own personal circumstances, but this year, political history has been made and it has left us in a great divide.
The divisions within our country are reminiscent of the year when Abraham Lincoln was elected, in 1860. That year, it was a 4-way race between Lincoln (Republican), John C. Breckenridge (Southern Democrat Party), John Bell (Constitutional Union Party), and Stephen Douglas (Democrat).
As we know, Lincoln prevailed. He did it with a landslide victory of 180 electoral votes and almost 1.9 million popular votes. His closest competitor was Breckinridge with 72 electoral votes and almost 850,000 popular votes. The over-arching issues were state rights vs. a strengthened federal government and their positions on the institution of slavery and its expansion in the United States.
While Lincoln supporters were happy he prevailed in this critical election, they were anxious about the responses of those whose candidates did not win. There had already been much violence in the country prior to the election. There had been threats of secession from the Union by many southern states. Civil conflict seemed inevitable.
The threats and violence associated with the election of Lincoln were so prevalent that Lincoln, accompanied by security, made his way by train from his home in Springfield, Illinois to the nation’s capital. He avoided an assassination attempt by having all the telegraph lines between Baltimore and Washington cut to prevent reporting on his travel progress. As a precaution, his train left Baltimore and then doubled back. He changed to a late-night train arriving in the capital city in the middle of the night. Even though the press did not treat him kindly for his cautious entry, he arrived safely, took the oath of office, and presided over the country during the entire Civil War.
Our recent election has left many feeling optimistic about the future of our country and an almost equal number of Americans feeling distraught, angry, and afraid.
Regardless of which side you are on, there is so very much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The fact that we have a voice in our own future is a gift many countries do not share. If your candidates prevailed, please extend grace to your brothers and sisters who are afraid and outraged. They are, after all, your fellow Americans.
If your candidates did not prevail in our recent elections, you can take comfort in knowing you were able to vote your conscience. Now, you can do what civil Americans have been doing before and after the Civil War—accept the results of the election, make your peace with the outcome, and continue to live your life according to your personal conscience and values within the laws of our great country. Take solace in knowing you have many other opportunities to positively impact the lives of those around you, regardless of which side they are on.
People of faith can take comfort in knowing good always triumphs over evil. In the end, our Creator, the God of light, has already overcome the powers of darkness.
There were people of great faith on both sides of those living during our country’s horrible Civil War. After the last gun sounded, what was left was a testament to the inextinguishable will to survive, heal, and flourish. Grace, forgiveness, and peace are things we can all be thankful for this year knowing, individually, we can ALWAYS choose to be a part of what is right with the world! For this, I am truly thankful.
