What Abraham Lincoln Teaches Us About “Right” and “Wrong”

(prepare to have your mind blown)

Up in the balcony sat Abraham Lincoln with his wife. The show helped get his mind off the war.

BANG!

His mind would forever be off the war because he just got shot in the back of the head! This remains one of the most tragic moments in American history because we can’t help but ponder, “What if he lived? How would the world be different today?”

But as its been said…

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” — Harvey, The Dark Knight

Abraham Lincoln died a hero. The country mourned him, honored him, and then deified him.

But a closer analysis of his beliefs reveal that if he had lived longer then eventually popular opinion would have turned against him.

He is constantly ranked as the greatest U.S. president…

… but even he would be considered “wrong” on most things today if he was still alive. He would be wrong from the clothes he wore, to the words he used, to the political and cultural beliefs he held. Even on the issue of slavery, which is what he’s most idolized for, would earn him numerous mean tweets.

Abraham Lincoln was elected president precisely because he wasn’t a radical abolitionist, in other words he did not advocate for freeing southern slaves. He only advocated for stopping the extension of slavery into the unsettled west, which was a more acceptable political position to the slave-holding border states.

“I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” — Abraham Lincoln

But this was still an unacceptable political position to the slave-holding southern states, which is why they seceded from the Union upon Lincoln’s election.

“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.” — Abraham Lincoln

But then as the Civil War raged on, and hundreds of thousands of Americans lay dead (more Americans died in the Civil War than all other wars combined), popular opinion cared less about slavery and more about ending the war as quickly as possible.

Under this pretense, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation freed slaves, but ONLY in the seceded south. In other words, the law only freed the slaves where it wasn’t considered law. The proclamation aimed to inspire southern slaves to revolt and sabotage the southern economy, thereby expediting the war.

But abolitionists felt the proclamation didn’t go far enough. They wanted to see slavery abolished in ALL of the United States. And then in the final months of Lincoln’s life he helped pass the 13th Amendment, which did just that, but then again abolitionists felt he didn’t go far enough because at that point they wanted to also grant voting rights.

But if Lincoln pushed too soon for the Emancipation Proclamation then the border states would have likely seceded and if he pushed too hard for voting rights then the 13th Amendment would have likely failed.

What made Abraham Lincoln such a skillful politician was his ability to position himself just slightly ahead of the herd. This is the KEY difference between a philosopher and a politician. A philosopher can say whatever he thinks is right. A politician can only say what he thinks the masses can stomach.

But the herd is always moving. Popular opinion is constantly shifting therefore what is considered “right” today won’t be considered “right” in 100 years. So if you look at the opinions you hold, if they all align with what is popular, you will eventually be considered wrong if you have the fortune of living long enough.

“There is a physical difference between the white and black races that will forever forbid the two races from living together on terms of social and political equality.” — Abraham Lincoln

If Abraham Lincoln could be so wrong, based on our modern day sensibilities, on the central issue of his times what makes you think we won’t be considered wrong on one of the central issues of our times?

Abortion.

Technology drives morality more than we care to admit.

Abortion was barbaric. It was often easier to have the damn baby and leave him on a doorstep than to turn to some back alley doctor with dirty hands (“germ theory” didn’t become popularized until the 1880s). Nowadays popular opinion is more supportive of the procedure because of the advancement of medicine.

But eventually abortions will again be seen as barbaric because pregnancy will be seen as barbaric.

Eventually it will be seen as immoral for a woman to have a natural pregnancy. In the future if a man and woman want a baby, they will drive to a lab, give an egg and a sperm, the lab would say “thank you”, and you would come back 9 months later for your baby who would have been grown in the most optimal conditions.

Only the religious orthodox would have children through sex, which popular opinion will balk at because a natural pregnancy would increase the risk of a birth defect or a miscarriage.

Now I’m not trying to say that we should determine moral “rightness” by what we think the masses will think. I’m simply trying to say that if we live long enough we’ll likely be considered “wrong” on nearly everything we are currently certain about, which means we should proceed with a greater degree of empathy and humility, which I find lacking in our modern day political discourse.

So I humbly ask again… if the greatest among us could be so wrong what makes you think you are so right? {mic drop, walks away slowly}

“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.” — Abraham Lincoln

Thanks for reading! Anthony Galli writes about the great men and women who made history so that we may make history in our own time. Watch his series @ The Great Life.