Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer. Really?

20/20 Hindsight

Obituary Entry 4: Abraham Lincoln

Every Monday I look into the life of someone from the past and see how God worked. Today I want to talk about President Lincoln. Even with a new "biography" of his life hitting theaters, I believe something can be learned.

When I saw the posters and trailor for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer I couldn't believe it. Then I heard that the author also wrote Pride and Predjudice and Zombies. Now it all makes since.

The funny thing is that Lincoln's life was already exciting. He was president during the bloodiest time in American history, freed the slaves, and was assassinated. Honest Abe doesn't need to hunt vampires to be remembered fondly by history.

I believe God works through people and sometimes in spite of them. In Abraham Lincoln's case I know that God worked, but I'm not sure if it was through or in spite of.

For starters every president swears to uphold the constitution which does not give the federal government the power to "preserve the union" or "free the slaves." It does give states any powers not specifically given to the federal government. This means they can secede or even have slaves.

The constitutional way would be for the Northern states to have allowed the south to leave over the many grievances that they had. Congress could have also defined personhood and then everyone of all ethnicities would be covered under the Bill of Rights (making the slaves free).

Regardless of his ability to lead or follow the constitution some good things came out of Lincoln's legacy. I still believe that all of the bloodshed was unwarrented and that the states should have been allowed to secede. But in hindsight God worked through a bloody mess of our own making to set people free.

Anyway you slice it freedom is a good thing. Lincoln took us one step closer towards freedom and equality. And to think he did it without have to slay any vampires.



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Response to Anonymous commenter is Here

The NEW LAW: We are no longer equal!

The Civil War marked an important time in history for us as Americans.  The 14th amendment had passed guaranteeing Americans equal protection under the law no matter what color, creed or ethnicity to which they belong.  For the first time every person in this great country was finally equal in the eyes of our government.  This new amendment added something precious without infringing on any of the rights already guaranteed to us by the original Bill of Rights.  Now in 2009 one hundred and forty one years later, under a new bill the 14th amendment is as good as scrapped.  

With the passing of the "Hate Crimes Prevention Act" (actually is was tacked on to the 

"2010 National Defense Authorization Act") our right to be equal is gone.  This bill threatens to make it a federal crime to hate someone in your mind, which essentially punishes us for the way we think.  Our President and Senators are telling us that we still have the freedom to hate if we do not act on it physically.  This is a half truth, because the act of assault for example is already illegal and punishable on a local level.  What the bill says is that the federal crime tacked onto the assault charge will be a crime of motivation (which DOES punish one for his or her thoughts).   I would argue that if you act on it physically than the physical act of the crime should be prosecuted not the hate behind the action.  Please don't take my word for it, read a section from the bill itself on page 1059 section 3 lines 16-21 (that's right I've read the whole thing).   

(3) State and local authorities are now and will 16

continue to be responsible for prosecuting the over-17

whelming majority of violent crimes in the United 18

States, including violent crimes motivated by bias. 19

These authorities can carry out their responsibilities 20

more effectively with greater Federal assistance. 21


Just who is equal in the eyes of the NEW LAW?  Well let me tell you they are minorities, women, gays, lesbians, transsexuals, and the disabled.  If you attack one of these protected groups there can and will be essentially two crimes (assault and hate), but if you assault a white heterosexual male there will only be one crime and if you are in one of the aforementioned protected groups then you can probably get off by saying that you acted in fear of your own life because the straight white male hates you.  I happen to be a straight white male and believe that I am no better than any other human being, but I am certainly no worse either.  We deserve and should demand the equal treatment that the constitution promises us.  


I am also a Christian and believe in obeying the powers that be, but fortunately we live in a constitutionally limited republic and not a democracy.  This means that our constitution is one of the powers that we obey and right now it is contradicting itself.  


I believe that at this rate it may soon be illegal for people to speak their minds or practice their religion freely.  A pastor, rabbi, priest, or cleric who says for instance that homosexuality is wrong will become a "hater".  It happened when Nero burned Rome and blamed it on Christians.  The so called "haters" were rounded up and killed.  You may not be religious or a straight white male, but don't you want to live in a country were we are all truly equal with equal protection for every citizen regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual lifestyle?  I do and for many years I did.

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze died today of pancreatic cancer.  He will be remembered by so many people.  He will be remembered by students who have to read "The Outsiders" for school and who opt instead to run to Blockbuster Video for the 1983 movie adaption.  He will be remembered by guys for his action roles in "Roadhouse"(1989) and "Point Break" (1991).  He will be remembered by women everywhere for "Dirty Dancing" (1987) and "Ghost"(1990).  To this Blogger he was "Orry Main" from the television mini-series "North and South" (movie adaption of three books by John Jakes).  This was the best dramatic portrayal of the life, events, and times of the civil war that I have ever seen.  If you have not seen it there are still sites where it can be ordered (it is twelve made for TV movies, so clear some time if you plan to watch because it is hard to turn off).

He was a great actor and a breath of fresh air in this society where almost every celebrity death is met with the scandal of suicide or drug overdose.  In the midst of Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, and Anna Nicole Smith of the last two years, we have Patrick Swayze. An actor who dies of a natural cause after a great career spanning four decades with his wife by his side.  He married his first and only wife Lisa in 1975 and they renewed their vows last year.  Hollywood could learn a lot from Patrick, from his career and his life.  He will be missed.