On February 12, 1959, the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the distinguished poet and historian Carl Sandburg was invited to Washington, D.C. to speak. Before a joint session of congress and assembled diplomatic corps, the astute, eloquent student of Lincoln held the attention of everyone as he portrayed a very great leader with very human characteristics. Calling his speech, appropriately, "Man of Steel and Velvet," Sandburg helped everyone see that a respected leader can be both capable and vulnerable. The mixture may be rare, but when it is there it is truly effective.
Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect....
While the war winds howled, he insisted that the Mississippi was one river meant to belong to one country....
While the luck of war wavered and broke and came again, as generals failed and campaigns were lost, he held enough forces ... together to raise new armies and supply them, until generals were found who made war as victorious war has always been made, with terror, frightfulness, destruction ... valor and sacrifice past words of man to tell.
In the mixed shame and blame of the immense wrongs of two crashing civilizations, often with nothing to say, he said nothing, slept not at all, and on occasions he was seen to weep in a way that made weeping appropriate, decent, majestic.
? Charles R. Swindoll

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.