Good morning everyone! I 'm sure that you 're all as excited as I am to have reached election week, and those of us in the Rutgers United Party hope that everyone lets their voice be heard. For my final message to you all before you vote, I wanted to share with you a recent experience that I had over this past weekend, which was the chance to tour Gettysburg with some of my fellow cadets in the Army ROTC program.
Gettysburg was the site of the decisive battle of the Civil War in 1863, and although the Confederacy wouldn 't surrender until after two more years of great bloodshed, they never fully recovered from their defeat at that quiet town in Pennsylvania. You would never guess that you were at the site of one of the most important
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Anyone who has been to Gettysburg knows that it is a profound experience to tour the quiet Little Round Top, Cemetery Ridge, Seminary Hill, and other hallowed ground. To fully fathom all the lives lived, the hopes and dreams of those incredibly scared and brave young boys who laid down their lives to save our country and end the injustice of slavery is impossible. Touring that battlefield is a humbling experience, but looking over the now-tranquil fields of Gettysburg made me question whether that sacrifice was worth it, when so much prejudice and hatred still lives on in America.
When we came to the spot where President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, I reflected on the speech that I consider to be one of the most important in American history. It is one of those speeches that has stood the test of time, and is as important today as it was 154 years ago. I 'm sure you 've all read it, but I ask that you read the final few sentences again:
"...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham