200

By IAN TAUKURO

 

I'm on a roll today, lads...

Today marks the 200th birthday of two great men of history.

The first devised a theory that still causes much debate and controversy

among scientists and is a constant irritation to the church, although,

atheist's rejoice in the theory's teachings.

Let us all stand and offer a round of applause for the late but great,

Charles Darwin, who was born on February 12, 1809.

His theory of Natural Selection, which promoted the idea of evolution,

when first put forward, represented a great challenge to the teachings

of the church which, based on the bible, said all living things on the

planet are the result of Intelligent Design.

The other great man whose birthday was on February 12, 1809 is Abraham

Lincoln, who was the 16th US president who served from 1860 to 1865.

A great monument in his honour stands there in Washington DC erected as

a token of appreciation by the American people for what he did to save

the United States.

If a lesser man had been president during those tumultuous years of the

American Civil War, the United States would surely have become two

separate nations, North and South. It would never have grown into the

powerful nation that it is today. Lincoln realized that blood must be

shed to protect the ideals of freedom and democracy and, on the fateful

day in 1860, made the decision to send in supplies to Fort Sumter in

North Carolina, which was considered an act of war by the Confederacy,

the rival government to the US government, whose troops had surrounded

the fort. So began the Civil War, which went on for 5 years, ending soon

after Lincoln's assassination in 1865. America emerged from the heat of

battle bloodied and weary but re-born nonetheless.

Aside from the Lincoln Memorial, there is even a powerful warship, the

USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that patrols the high seas,

protecting the interests of the US just like the great man did when he

was alive.

What's common to Lincoln and Darwin? Well, aside from being full of

character and virtue they both had that unshakable belief in themselves

and the decisions they made and they never gave up as a result.

That's a good lesson for us all to learn ... whatever you do, don't

quit!

 

Ian