This challenge was tricky for me. The motivating, ice-breaking article to read was this one. It’s about eyewitness accounts of the Gettysburg Address. I’d never even read the speech until tonight. So, taking full advantage of the openness of the assignment, I wrote up something.
Assignment: Read these eyewitness accounts of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and then craft a post about them. The sky’s the limit. Be creative, be you.
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It seems unexpected that words spoken at a cemetery would one day be regarded as a defining moment in American history. Sarah A. Meyers, an eyewitness at Gettysburg that day, noted the briefness of President Lincoln’s speech. This caught my attention. I’m used to political addresses being long. It’s rare to hear comments that an American president’s speech was short. For the first time, I had a chance to read the speech. It was very brief, and even more impactful. President Lincoln’s words are in dedication of a national cemetery for fallen soldiers. In a nutshell, he encouraged all living Americans to keep fighting for and striving toward freedom.
After reading this speech, I wondered why it was so short. This is an excellent example of saying what needs to be said. President Lincoln didn’t hide behind speech writers or search a thesaurus for creative eloquence. Nothing was sugar-coated with flowery phrases and poetic sounding words. This applies to me. With all this talk of “my voice” and needing to stay true and authentic to myself and the craft of writing, the Gettysburg Address is an encouragement. When President Obama delivers a speech, we have the ability to tune in live and hear his words in its original format. We’re also subjected to all types of analysts who attempt to dissect every sentence, word and oral pause, often looking for flaws. When President Lincoln addressed Gettysburg, he encouraged the people in his hearing. I don’t belief that history, or providing a proper amount of ear-candy to pacify any analysts, was his focus.
I need to stop picturing writing analysts in my mind when I do write. I tend to over process ideas and word imagery at times when I make my audience the focus. My words, my writing isn’t always melodic and airy. And that’s okay. I often find myself cutting down the number of words written to the number of words that are actually needed. I don’t want to lose my readers before they’ve heard the message. My words may never be part of my country’s history, but they are a part of my present. Every word counts.