Lisa Saunooke

Abraham Lincoln remains one of the most popular icons in American history. His image has taken on a life of its own representing democracy and freedom. While Lincoln is definitely a true hero, what is it that truly makes him such a man? Is it the concepts he represents or the ideas which he lived by that created the man? Do his ideas carry forward with people today? We see these ideas everywhere and in different people. I see them in my mother, Lisa Saunooke.

Abraham Lincoln was very much a self educated man. He took it upon himself to learn as much as he could with the resources he had. Often with borrowed books he spent many nights by candlelight trying to absorb their knowledge. My mother took 12 years to finish college. She went part time while working two jobs and raising two children. My older sister can remember going to the college library with my mother. While my sister would draw, my mother would study. She spent all her free time, usually late at night, studying but she never missed doing anything with us. Always she has stressed the importance of an education because an education can take you everywhere.

Abraham Lincoln came from a poor background. He was not educated in the finest schools and his family did not have a lot of money. He believed in honest work. He did not believe that because he did not have the same benefits of some other people that he would not go far. Instead he set goals for himself and achieved these by whatever means possible. My mother is like that. Being a single parent after my father died presented many obstacles. When she could not find a “suitable” job, she went to work in the construction industry. She was not working in an office but “hanging on the side of a building”. Lincoln split logs and my mother pounded nails. She did what she had to in order to achieve her goals of providing for her family. According to her, “being a singles parent is not an excuse but a reason” for striving that much harder.

Lincoln reigned over a country in times of trouble and strife. He often had to make decisions that were unpopular. He sacrificed and the country also had to sacrifice for the greater good. Being a single parent was like that for my mother. She sacrifices her personal wants for the needs of me and my sister. Often times the decision in life is to her sacrifice things the family wants in order to meet our needs. It is a balancing act trying to give both of the children the things they want while trying to maintain the family. Sometimes this means telling us no. While this in an unpopular decision, it is always in the best interest of the family. Just as Lincoln bore no grudges against the South; my mother still loves us when we rebel.

So the answer to my question is yes. The ideas and concepts that made Lincoln a true hero are still alive today. No place can you see this more clearly than in the common everyday person like my mother. Because as history reminds us Lincoln started as a common everyday man but look what he accomplished. What better example can you have to follow?