Springfield, Illinois

Gerardus van der Leeuw thought that the feeling of awe that people feel in the presence of great personages is the basis of all religion.  Visiting Springfield, I think that van der Leeuw may have been onto something.  Abraham Lincoln is treated with a respect here that it is no exaggeration to call "worship."  I myself felt a mystic rush as we approached his home. 

Lincoln moved to Springfield at the age of 28, just about halfway through his life.  He was a successful circuit lawyer, and the house is very nice.  Many of the possessions are original to the house.  I don't know why it makes a difference, but to look at something that Lincoln actually owned is different than looking at a replica. 

In Japan, the shrine and all the buildings at Ise are taken down and replaced stick by stick every twenty years.  Is this the same shrine of the ancestors?

We visited Lincoln's tomb, which I found to be surprisingly elaborate.  Would people have built such a structure for a mere human?  Although some people seemed to be having fun outside the tomb itself, the feeling inside was one of deep reverence.

I have to wonder how a person becomes a god.  In Springfield, the most common interpretation of the significance of Lincoln is that anybody can become president.  He had very little formal education, but taught himself law, arithmetic and science.  He spent his childhood in a log cabin, but by the time he was in his twenties he was able to build this mansion in Springfield.  The story of Lincoln, who seems to have been a deeply troubled and conflicted individual when he was human, becomes a myth.