... Recommend this page to a friend. Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, PA Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continents a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate-we can not consecrate- we can not hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. AND PONDER THIS: If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed? Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 a piece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards: Naive Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool? So if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs", what does that make the Tennessee Titans? If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea. does that mean that one enjoys it? If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes? Why do we say something is out of whack? What's a whack? Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled? If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say? Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites? Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things? Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one? Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks? What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men? Whatever happened to Preparations A through G? And why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with? A FEW IDLE THOUGHTS A man with both feet firmly on the ground is a man who can't get his pants off. All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy. Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone. How can there be self-help groups? I am neither for nor against apathy. I had amnesia once -- or twice. I used to be indecisive. Now, I'm not sure. If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales? If the world were a logical place, men would be the ones who ride horses sidesaddle. Is it just me, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken? My weight is perfect for my height ... which varies. One nice thing about egotists ... they don't talk about other people. Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic. Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home, and when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway. The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity. They told me I was gullible and I believed them. What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free? A FINAL WORD The world is really a beautiful place, and every moment is to be treasured ... It is full of beauty, melody, and joy, and every human being is *potentially* beautiful, good, and capable of great joy ... How could it be otherwise, since the Creator put His divine signature on every person ... and that includes you, and you, and you ... Oh yeah, and you too. And so from this principle we learn that lamenting and despairing is something that should be alien to the human personality ... instead the ringing principle should be a joyful spirit, a cheerful demeanor, and a heart brimming over with hope, no matter how deep our afflictions. We work, try hard, and do the most with what we have. Now this might be my kind of thinking. Not all people would agree with the religious overtones in some of the above thoughts. Here's one person who I think extremely intelligent, a rationalist (atheist?) Martin Willett ... who sees this world in a very different light (and who makes a lot of good sense), good sense because the only other sense is nonsense. So we return to ... Menu ... or to the ... Navigator ... it's about time.