Author Dr. Robert Saul

Raising Young Citizens in the Age of Columbine

Our better angels

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I have always been enamored by the phrase “our better angels.”  To me, it means to act in the best manner possible for the good of others.  I see the phrase as a significant call to action, and it seems particularly poignant in late 2024.

But before I reflect on specific actions that the phrase implies to me, let’s reflect on its origin and related themes.

  • The last paragraph of Lincoln’s first inaugural address is the source.1 It is interesting that the phrase is slightly different than I thought (the better angels of our nature instead of our better angels) and was altered from the phrasing initially suggested by Lincoln’s trusted advisor, William Seward.  Seward has suggested “the guardian angel of the nation” but Lincoln characteristically chose a more personal engagement. “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”  These words, delivered at the beginning of the Civil War, were prescient and consistent with Lincoln’s attempt to unify a splintering nation.  Remember, this is the same man who four years later at his second inaugural address as the Civil War was ending said that we should proceed “with malice toward none, with charity for all.”
  • I have always thought that the better angels philosophy is like the Boy Scout Law.2 And our better angels guidance is like the Boy Scout Law on steroids. To be…
    • TRUSTWORTHY. Tell the truth and keep promises. People can depend on you.
    • LOYAL. Show that you care about your family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and country.
    • HELPFUL. Volunteer to help others without expecting a reward.
    • FRIENDLY. Be a friend to everyone, even people who are very different from you.
    • COURTEOUS. Be polite to everyone and always use good manners.
    • KIND. Treat others as you want to be treated. Never harm or kill any living thing without good reason.
    • OBEDIENT. Follow the rules of your family, school, and pack. Obey the laws of your community and country.
    • CHEERFUL. Look for the bright side of life. Cheerfully do tasks that come your way. Try to help others be happy.
    • THRIFTY. Work to pay your own way. Try not to be wasteful. Use time, food, supplies, and natural resources wisely.
    • BRAVE. Face difficult situations even when you feel afraid. Do what you think is right despite what others might be doing or saying.
    • CLEAN. Keep your body and mind fit. Help keep your home and community clean.
    • REVERENT. Be reverent toward God. Be faithful in your religious duties. Respect the beliefs of others.
  • The biblical instruction to love thy neighbor as thy self is obviously analogous to calling for our better angels.3 Matthew 22:39 could not be clearer—the inaction of not loving thy neighbor is antithetical to Christian doctrine.  The latter path accepts the cheap grace of insincere faith—grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.4

I contend that we have lost our beacon of hope when the person chosen to lead the nation (to govern, not to rule as he thinks) has no concept of our better angels.

  • Our better angels do not slur those of us with intellectual disability. His constant talk of his opponents as having low IQ shows his contempt for the nurturing of those amongst us that need extra nurturing and care.
  • Our better angels do not mock those with physical disabilities. His disdain for people with physical disabilities has not been tempered since his mockery of a reporter during the 2016 election.  And those type of displays tend to infect our ethos and denigrate those with physical issues.
  • Our better angels do not seek to marginalize those with alternative lifestyles. They are not subhuman though the recent slew of campaign ads seemed to suggest so.
  • Our better angels do not refer to fellow humans as trash, scum, garbage or fake.
  • Our better angels do not paint a broad brush to label all people seeking a better life, free of harm and violence, as murderers and rapists. Such characterizations allow for the public mockery of those that have sought a similar path to our ancestors.  Yet, we revere our ancestors and revile this new generation of immigrants.
  • Our better angels do not have a yearning for making American Great Again without having a sincere reckoning of what we have done in the past. Slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and homophobia (to name a few of our past transgressions) are a significant part of the past.  Remember that segregation and Jim Crow laws provided the template for Hitler’s plan for ethnic cleansing.  Is that what we want to return to?  Do we want to make sure that others that do not look like “us” will stay in their place?  The overt scorn for “being woke” tells me that the discomfort of introspection will not be tolerated if we really are seeking to improve the lives of our fellow Americans.5  But such discomfort is absolutely necessary.
  • Our better angels seek to provide a quality education for all—not an education based on zip code, financial means or ethnicity.
  • Our better angels seek to unite with all segments of society, not just their like-minded group. As President Lincoln noted, “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.”  Those of faith, practiced with integrity, should lead the way, not be led by those with unethical principles.

A reading of the bullet points immediately above will be seen in some circles as a “sour grapes” rendering of the recent election.  Quite the contrary, I see those bullet points as an assessment  for those of us that need to be reminded of our duty going forward.  In the footnote below6, I penned my thoughts after the election.  I was very disappointed, selfishly for myself but more importantly for the children.  In another footnote below7, I show similar remarks from Sen. Raphael Warnock from the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church on 11/10/24 and his call for more spiritual work.

I will continue to fight for our children, constantly endeavoring to invoke our better angels and working with others to keep our better angels at the forefront of our actions and interactions.   We can do no less.

 

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln%27s_first_inaugural_address
  2. https://www.scouting.org/about/faq/question10/
  3. https://mychildrenschildren.com/love-thy-neighbor-3/
  4. https://mychildrenschildren.com/caste-inaction-is-action-part-ii/
  5. https://mychildrenschildren.com/woke-im-in/
  6. I am profoundly sad this am…for the children, ALL the children. I was looking forward to tangible work on – 1. Increasing health care and health care access; 2. Reducing gun violence; 3. Tackling poverty; 4.  Recognizing mental health issues, especially for marginalized youth; 5. Promoting vaccines and its accompanying science; 6. Addressing climate change; 7.  Investing in children (again ALL the children); Yes, life will go on but the children cannot wait. I will have to double my efforts to make their voices heard. (Robert Saul, 11/6/24)
  7. “How could we be here again? Makes me want to holler. Throw up both my hands. Huge segments of the American population, I believe, are so shaken by their own fears that they decided to have yet another dance with the ugliest parts of our complicated American story. Makes me want to holler, throw up both my hands. Yet here we are…I didn’t come this morning to sugarcoat it. This is hard. This hurts. Deep disappointment. Even a sense of betrayal because this is about so much more than an election. It’s about the character of the country. I said before the election that this election is not about who he is, or who she is, but about who we are. Clearly, we got some spiritual work to do.” (Senator Raphael Warnock, Ebenezer Baptist Church, 11/10/24)