Who inspires you?

Abraham Lincoln inspires me. Though I don't know as much about Honest Abe as I would like to, I have always felt a special fondness for him. I remember seeing his memorial in Washington DC for the first time when I was sixteen. I had travelled to DC with a Close Up group during my sophomore year in high school. Of all the memorials, museums, and buildings we visited, Lincoln made the biggest impression on me. In all honesty, my love of Lincoln may have less to do with any deep understanding of his place in history than it had to do with my burgeoning love of tall, dark and quirky boys.

Nevertheless, when I returned to Washington DC this weekend, Abe was near the top of my list of things to see. Regretfully, I did not make it to the new Martin Luther King memorial, though I would have loved to see it. However, I did see the WWII  and Vietnam memorials for the first time. The Vietnam sculpture is startling in its simplicity. It looks as if it could not possibly serve as a fitting memorial to all the soldiers who lost their lives in that unfortunate war. However, as I walked down the gently sloping walkway and watched all the names etched into the black granite, I was incredibly moved and saddened. Halfway through, I thought that  the wall must be ending. I thought that there could not possibly be any more names. And as I glanced up and looked at how far I was from the end, I realized that no other memorial could have so perfectly captured the tragedy and futility of war. The loss of innocent lives is etched like a tattoo on my brain after walking alongside American architect Maya Lin's surprisingly simple wall.

When we got to Lincoln, my friend --a true lover of history and a Washington insider--motioned me towards the wall where the Second Inaugural Address is etched. He pointed to the following lines to highlight Lincoln's unique wisdom and humility:
"Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we may be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully."
I want to cry when I read those lines. They move me so deeply. Someday, when I have more time, I will immerse myself in Lincoln's life and story. I want to know as much as I can about this great man.

We need great men and women to lead us. We need to believe that the people who serve our nation do so with humility and wisdom. Too many politicians seem to have forgotten that the love of country and mankind should be their greatest motivators.

I used to say that I do not have a political bone in my body. Politics have never claimed my heart in the way that literature has. However, walking around Washington this weekend, surrounded by blooming Cherry Blossoms, I get it. It must feel like such an honor to work for our glorious nation. You may call me naive, but I just wish that all those men and women who profess such patriotism would listen to dear old Abe. As humans, even as humans of different faiths, I have to believe we are more alike than we are different. Jews and Christians. Arabs and Israelis. Democrats and Republicans. We want to be safe.We want  to be loved. We want to be able to care for and feed our children. We want work that allows us dignity and hope for the future. We want good health. We want fairness.
We want peace.