“With malice towards none and charity towards all….” These words are taken from President Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address. It was quite a statement to make to a country reeling from the destruction, death and turmoil of civil war. The power of this statement is as valuable today as it was so many years ago.

On April 7, the Chamber kicked off its first ever virtual Leadership Longmont course. While we’ve hosted Leadership Longmont courses for many years, the 2021 class is the first virtual offering. We’ve been fortunate to have excellent presenters, on a wide variety of topics, from around Longmont and our region. Our first speaker, former Public Safety Chief Mike Butler, introduced the class to statesmanship. He discussed what it is, how to recognize it and why it is so sorely needed in our community, country and world today.

Statesmanship, or what we are calling “Statespersonship” in our class, may be difficult to define, but most of us recognize it when we see it. Certainly, President Lincoln was a master statesperson. Throughout the war, President Lincoln kept a clear focus on maintaining the Union. He was also steadfast in his approach to the evils of slavery and the virtues of freedom and liberty for every person. He never waivered from this, and in his public addresses he reminded the country of his vision.

Lincoln understood and anticipated human nature. After a devastating war, the natural response would likely be vengeance and retribution. In some ways, this is exactly what happened during Reconstruction. It’s my belief that had Lincoln not been assassinated, his vision of charity towards all would have unified the country and the rights and freedoms of all would have been secured more quickly. We will never know, but the loss of such a statesperson impacted our country moving forward.

One definition that came from the Leadership discussion was that a statesperson is unique from a politician, or elected official, because a statesperson truly envisions and works for the betterment of others. Their actions, words and strategy are not guided by votes, but rather they are guided by principles and a strong belief of right and wrong and truly wanting to do what is best for others.

We often we think of people like President Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, President Washington and others in history as statespeople. They seem larger than life. But if the definition of being a statesperson is being guided by principles and doing what is best for others, then we can all practice statespersonship.

I am very proud that this year, as in previous years, we have two high school students participating in the Leadership class. One is considering starting a statespersonship club at his high school. I am also proud that just recently, Astrid Villalobos, a student at Front Range Community College and Co-Chair of the Chamber Student Network (CSN), received the Rising Star Award from the Colorado Community College System. Astrid is currently studying Public Policy but credits her success thus far with a commitment she has to serving others.

In a time when society seems very divided, it gives me hope to see our up and coming leaders practice the art of becoming statespersons. Our communities and nation will be better with principled statespersons. My wish for us all moving forward is that we may we all live with malice towards none and charity towards all.