Let’s heed Lincoln’s call for reconciliation

This week marks the 155th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which took place March 4, 1865. Even with the passing of so many years, the speech retains its relevance.

Argue your beliefs with passion and vigor, but with respect for the other side.

In fact, we would argue that Lincoln’s message that day needs to be heard by Americans today as much as it did when the president delivered it.

Lincoln’s second inauguration took place in the waning days of the Civil War, with a Union victory all but certain. The president delivered a speech that was intended to set the tone for the reunion of North and South after years of warfare that exacted a terrible toll on both sides.

With victory in sight, no doubt many of the president’s supporters in the North were hoping for a triumphant, celebratory address.

What Lincoln delivered instead was a somber assessment of the nightmare Americans had experienced for the previous four years. He characterized the agony of war as divine retribution for the nation’s many years of tolerance or outright support for slavery.

He concluded with these words:

“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.”

Remarkably, Lincoln was making an appeal for reconciliation at a moment when many in the North desired revenge and many in the South were furious to be dragged back into the Union and forced to abandon slavery.

Of course, not everyone embraced the message at the time. Lincoln was assassinated the following month, and the fallout from the Civil War continued to be felt for more than a century after its conclusion. Indeed, it still influences American politics to this day.

Nevertheless, Lincoln’s expression of ideals did have an impact. The nation did reunite, and despite serious disagreements, Americans have worked together to overcome tremendous challenges over the years.

But Lincoln’s call for reconciliation has become faint in today’s world. Many political partisans routinely express sentiments that are heavy on malice and devoid of charity toward fellow Americans who hold different views.

The situation is particularly bad online, where people can be subject to tremendous abuse and outright harassment for using social media to express political views that others abhor. Worse yet, disagreements over politics have infected interpersonal relationships. Family gatherings for holidays have become fraught with tension, and many people have cut off contact with relatives or longtime friends due to political disagreements.

The problem here isn’t new. Many of us have been bemoaning this trend for years. But we’ve reached a moment when this problem could put lives at risk.

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading in America, and we’re at risk of a fullblown pandemic. It’s one of those times when we need to put political differences aside and work together to stem the spread of this illness and ensure those who are infected get the treatment they need. While efforts to achieve that are underway, we’re continuing to see further arguments on the subject along the same political lines as usual.

Meanwhile the 2020 election already is producing terrible vitriol. And it’s not just Democrats vs. Republicans. Some Democrats are attacking one another on personal terms rather than focusing on differences in ideas.

Political discourse is likely to get even worse in the coming months, and as 2020 comes to an end, our nation is likely to find itself in a situation analogous to the end of the Civil War. Regardless of who wins, each of us will be faced with a choice between trying to reunite and continuing to drift apart.

We urge readers to remember Lincoln’s words. Argue your beliefs with passion and vigor, but with respect for the other side. It’s time to stop opening our wounds and start binding them.