Can a man change, or are his personality traits so fixed that external circumstances are incapable of adjusting them in any significant way? This is a question that finds enthusiastic advocates for both answers. The cynics–or as they prefer to be called, the “realists”–tell us that personality does not change. Our knowledge contracts and expands, but the core of our being remains immutable. We may become more polished in our presentations, or more adept at concealing our intentions, but in the end it is still the same old “us.” We are here, and we have not changed.
Abraham Lincoln
The Right To Evolve
Anyone who has ever cleaned out his basement or attic has certainly come across writings or photos from earlier years. We are likely to wince upon reading things we wrote ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago, to the same degree that we shake our heads in bewilderment at seeing old photos of ourselves. This is because our minds, and our consciousness, does not remain fixed and unmoved as we age; they are not like the Rock of Gibraltar. The things we believe when we were younger are not going to be the same things we believe as we get older. This is natural and predictable; only a fool would refuse to change his views as he aggregates years and worldly experience.
Revealing Anecdotes On The Character Of Abraham Lincoln
We have earlier stated that anecdotes often reveal more about a man’s thinking and character than might a long recounting of his deeds. About Abraham Lincoln many stories have been told, some no doubt apocryphal, others not. I will present here a few true anecdotes that most readers are not likely to be familiar with; they shed revelatory light on Lincoln’s character, and how his leadership gifts were powerful in their own understated way.
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