"You can thank me for that, Obraham Lib-con. Lovie is from Chicago same as me, except when I'm from Springfield...or was the Seinfeld??"
Posted on 02/11/2007 11:00:18 PM PST by goldstategop
Whether or not you believe that Abraham Lincoln was racist, his Emancipation Proclamation certainly propelled in motion the abolition of slavery and freedom of the African American.
"That on the 1st day of January, A.D. 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
From slavery to Super Bowl
Roughly 150 years later, two black coaches find themselves for the first time in the Super Bowl – the Chicago Bears' Lovie Smith and the Indianapolis Colts' Tony Dungy. As great as the competition was, I thought their stories were the real advantage points of the game.
Two close friends. Two survivors. Two non-drinkers. Two profanity-free family men. Two devout Christians. Two models of faith in practice. And two proofs that nice guys do finish first.
Smith's 30-year-old son described them both, ''The thing about my dad and Coach Dungy that I'm most proud of is that they showed you can get to the Super Bowl by being soft-spoken and treating people with respect. It doesn't mean they're soft people. They're both pillars of strength. They proved good things happen to good people in due time.''
From coaches to cultural models
It isn't merely to their children, but to all of us, that these gentlemen model decency and leadership. In a day in which our compromising culture offers for emulation the stellar examples of licentious movie stars, fallen pageantry queens, and even steroid-augmented sports figures, this dynamic duo is a breath of fresh football air!
Dungy said, ''I think about my generation of kids, who watched Super Bowls, never really saw African-American coaches and didn't necessarily think about the fact that you could be the coach. You could be a player. You couldn't necessarily be the quarterback. Then we saw Doug Williams play and win, and guys a little bit younger than me all of a sudden felt they could be a quarterback. Now you see Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, guys like that, because of what Doug did. And hopefully, young kids now will say, 'Hey, I might be the coach one day.' So that's special.''
From color to Christ
The greatest compliment, however, to these two Super Bowl coaches is that their spirituality even supersedes their social status.
When presented the trophy after the Colts win, Coach Dungy declared, ''I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this. But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that."
Smith similarly echoed earlier sentiments, "My relationship, first, is with Jesus Christ, and he is the center of my life. I try to live a Christian life. I would like for players to know my faith [is] based on what they see on a day-to-day basis."
From abolitionists to end zones
While football prognosticators pontificated over their projected victories, the real winners were not just coaches Dungy and Smith, but honest Abe and the abolitionists, for the ball they carried was finally ran into the end zone.
And what about future endeavors? As Lincoln summarized with these words from his Second Inaugural Address, on March 4, 1865, and now etched in marble on his Memorial:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."
Honestly, Abe, I think we made it.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Why the hell not? Let's rewrite history and also make Clinton the first "black" President who has a loving marriage, made the world a safer place to live and never lied in court...
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