A Review of Lincoln’s Dilemma by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Apple +
Year: 2022
MPAA Rating, Not Rated at the Time of This Review
USCCB Rating, Not Rated at the Time of This Review
Reel Rating, Three Reels
George
Washington is probably the most famous American president, but Abraham Lincoln
is easily the most beloved. Common mythology states he preserved the Union,
freed the slaves, and paid the ultimate price for his heroic deeds. All of
these are certainly true, but Lincoln’s Dilemma, a new miniseries on
Apple +, gives details that portray a more complex, and even more heroic,
picture of this great man and the nation he saved.
Lincoln’s
Dilemma is broken into four-hour long episodes, roughly matching his four
years in office. When Lincoln was elected, he was still in Illinois and had to
take a weeklong train to DC and his inauguration. This journey would prove prophetic
as there were threats to his life as he witnessed the divisions across the
country. By the time he was sworn in as president in March of 1861, several
states had already succeeded from the union. The next month, the Confederacy
took Fort Sumter, and the Civil War had begun. Lincoln’s Dilemma focuses
on Lincoln’s internal life, especially his philosophy, faith, and morality, as
he tries to bring the Civil War to a close. It uses a combination of talking
heads, mostly from academia, and charcoal animation to recreate events. The
latter is far more compelling, the black and white drawings expressing the
drama of good and evil involved in his discernment. The question he faces is
not just how to end the carnage but what this nation hopes to be when finished.
While
personally abhorring slavey, Lincoln’s priority is to preserve the union, even
if that means also preserving slavery in some form. Even if slavery is abolished,
liberty does not necessarily mean equality, and there is plenty of evidence, at
least initially, that Lincoln was not in favor of full equality for African
Americans with European Americans. As a shrewd political, he also gives signals
that placate Northerners who are sympathetic to the Southern cause. Everything
is geared towards ending the war successfully apart from any other motive.
Yet
as the war progresses, Lincoln’s tone begins to change. One of the major reason
is the bravery of African American soldiers. Many of them, including former
slaves, voluntarily enlist, recognizing the moral dimension of the conflict. He
also listens to the experiences of former slaves, especially Frederick Douglass,
and searches his own soul. This pushes him, against the advice of some of his cabinet
members, to give the Emancipation Proclamation and later promote the 13th
amendment, ending slavery permanently. Thus, the Civil War becomes not just
about keeping the states united but ending a great moral evil.
One
thing that stands out clearly among the many documents and individuals quoted
is how public and private expressions were commonplace. Frederick Douglass’s abolitionist
fervor comes directly from his Christian faith which teaches that all men are God’s
children. The postmodern idea of Judeo-Christian ethics as a hinderance to freedom
would be completely foreign to him. One thing that struck me about Lincoln’s
faith was his profound humility. He was constantly reexamining his conscience
and bringing in new information. He prayed for the ability to do the right “as
God allows us to see the right,” acknowledging how our own desires often interfere
with discernment. This isn’t an excuse for inaction or relativism but rather a recognition
of our fallen state. This humility is best described in his forgiveness of the South
after the Civil War, proclaiming in his 2nd inauguration speech “malice
towards none and charity to all.”
Unfortunately,
the prejudices of the modern age seep through at the very end. Many of the
professors interviewed use the hesitation of Northerners and even Lincoln
himself as evidence for deep seated white supremacy that supposedly exists in
nearly every social and legal institution today. They repeat typical far left
talking points directly correlating the Confederacy to Donald Trump, the January
6th riot, and the removal of statuary, including that of Lincoln
himself. In an effort to falsely de-mythologize, they are in fact recreating
their own racist mythology that blames all of America’s woes, however racially benign,
on European Americans.
There’s
much to glean from Lincoln’s Dilemma that at its best feels like an
American version of St. Augustine’s Confessions. Yet it trips so badly at
the finish line that the series is a hard sell without qualifications. Abraham
Lincoln was truly an American hero who was flawed but always sought to do the
right as God lead him to do so. In the end, like the founder of his religion,
he paid the ultimate price for his nation’s sins. He deserves not just to be
immortalized in stone but in the hearts of every American.
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report on February 25th, 2022.
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