I’ve noticed, particularly when watching C-SPAN, that some people are already starting to play up the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, despite the fact that we are nearly a year away from the event.
Not to diminish Lincoln–who is almost universally regarded as one of America’s greatest leaders–but I’ve never understood the fascination some people have with the 16th president. It’s one thing to have a healthy historical curiosity about the man. It’s another to collect memorabilia and attend annual conferences and acquire shelves full of books. That smacks more of deification.
There are a number of great figures in American history. Yet none of the other ones seem to have the obsessed following that Lincoln commands. I’ve never quite figured out why.