What Price...

...freedom? 

Above is the text of the famous "Lincoln/Bixby" letter, composed on November 21, 1864.

If you've heard of it before, it's almost certainly because you've watched <Saving Private Ryan>, Spielberg's powerful wartime movie that uses the letter as foundational to all that follows.

 

 

But long before Spielberg graced us with his WWII epic, "the Bixby letter" was known to Civil War historians as <un petite mystere>.

On its face it's simple enough - a condolence letter from the president to a grieving mother over the loss of her soldier sons.

And it does appear to be quintessentially Lincolnesque - think <The Gettysburg Address> - distilling a monumental event into eloquent concision wrapped in heartfelt sincerity.

The monumental event in this case concerned Lydia Bixby, a mother of six sons and three daughters.

Five of her sons fought for the Union - and all of them - it was believed at that time - perished in battle.

Thus the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln -

- took pen in hand and wrote, from greeting to close, 139 words of comfort.

Or did he?

That's been the debate through the years - unresolved to this day.

Some allege it was Lincoln's personal secretary John Hay who actually wrote the letter.

 

Others insist it was just as the signature states, Abraham Lincoln.

And so the open question: who's right?

There is much to commend pithiness.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains only 271 words and can be read aloud in less than 2 minutes, yet it's considered one of the most significant speeches in all of American history.

By way of contrast, the featured speaker on that day - November 19, 1863 - was the highly regarded orator <Edward Everett>, who rambled on endlessly.

Everett admitted later that Lincoln came closer to "the central idea of the occasion" in two minutes than he did in two hours.

Brevity has been hailed as both the soul of wit and the essence of good manners.

In this case, however, it's also one of the main reasons authorship of the Bixby letter has never been fully decided:  it's too brief a sample from which to draw any ironclad conclusions.

Historians who favor John Hay's authorship claim the appearance of two words - assuage and beguile - which never appear in any of Lincoln's other writings - are evidence enough.

Those who favor Lincoln dismiss that as spurious since most of his writings were not words of comfort to grieving widows - an occasion that calls for an entirely different vocabulary than that used for politics and affairs of state.

Adding spice to the controversy are revelations re: Mrs. Bixby and her clan.

Apparently all five of her sons did not "die gloriously on the field of battle".

Two of them certainly did; a third was honorably discharged, another dishonorably, and the 5th was MIA - possibly deserted or perished in a Confederate POW camp.

As for Mrs. B herself, reports were mixed: some claimed she was the proprietress of a house of ill repute and a Confederate sympathizer.

Once again, who's right?

My opinion:

President Abraham Lincoln, care worn and wearied by an interminable conflict, but believing a grieving mother had suffered a crushing loss, took time from his impossibly busy schedule to pen a sincere and poignant letter of solace.

And what a letter!

Society may have advanced technologically since the days of Lincoln, but we can't hold a candle to their mastery of the written word.

Today?

"Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss."

Then:

"I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming."

Today?

"May God comfort you in your time of grief."

Then:

"I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

Extraordinary.

Later revelations about the recipient and her family in no way diminish Lincoln's act of kindness nor taint his articulate expression of earnest sympathy.

Remember, Lincoln himself had suffered the loss of a son; he was all too familiar with the deforming power of grief.

So back to the original question:

What price freedom?

The answer is found within this quote from General, and later President, Dwight D Eisenhower:

"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."

Freedom is our God given right.

To claim it - and to protect it - we must be strong, we must be brave, and we must fight.

Apparently some people just don't know when to shut up, so I guess we'll jump straight into 23 Skidoo:

courtesy of Larry: "I had the strangest dream while hunting in the woods today..."

mr. squirrel enjoying that ubiquitous seasonal staple: the acorn

sunrise on the lake at Larry's cottage...

...and sunset in the woods.

wreaths for Thanksgiving

lighting up the trees in the backyard

The earliest Thanksgiving can be is November 22nd, something that won't happen again until 2029:

And we care about this why?

My ironclad rule has been no Christmas decorating until the day after Thanksgiving.

And while there has been some debate whether lighting up the trees in the backyard are for Christmas or just to brighten up the winter darkness, we've stuck to the rule for anything that's front facing.

If the neighbors can see it and it's obviously Christmas, then it waits until Thanksgiving is past.

This year Thanksgiving is on the 27th, so Friday the 28th is normally "the day".

But today is supposed to be sunny and in the 50's, and by Thanksgiving it's going to be cold in the 20's and 30's, with snow likely.

Karen says Santa and his reindeer go up on the rooftop today; and Mr. Weatherman said the same thing in his 11:15 pm report last night.

Thus I find myself...

...on the horns of a dilemma.

What to do?

Enter our innate ability to rationalize almost any decision, no matter how questionable.

Technically (that's usually how a rationalization begins), November 23rd can be the day after Thanksgiving (see calendar, above)...so if today is November 23rd or later...it's ok to put up Christmas decorations as long as we don't light 'em up.

See how that works?

It's settled, Santa and his reindeer go up on the house top click click click today, while it's sunny and 50+ degrees.

And that, boys and girls, is how Christmas ends up in stores before Halloween arrives.

Since we're on the subject of Christmas, here's a reminder from God's Word for what's ahead:

later, mcm fans...