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 born 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.
-Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

It’s post-MOVE:DC, I have tried to catch up on sleep, and thanks to Thanksgiving, I am full of stuffing and sweet potato casserole. Between napping and more eating, I decided to take a trip to the movie theater for a quick two and a half hour break. After watching the trailer to Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln fifty times obsessively, I was so excited to finally get the chance to see Daniel Day-Lewis steal my heart as he always does.

The movie starts off like any mind-melting, intellectual movie does – in the midst of the Civil War. And although it could have easily moved in the direction of a history channel documentary, it went in the opposite. This film gives the world the chance to get to know Abraham Lincoln as he actually was – brilliant, witty, stubborn (in the best way), and human. The characteristics shown through this beautifully directed movie are, in my opinion, why Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time.

Sure, I could talk about Daniel Day-Lewis’ character for paragraphs on end, but the movie would not have been what it was without the rest of the cast fueling the film. A nail bitter of a victory is what it was thanks to Sally Field, David Stratharin, Tommy Lee Jones, Hal Holbrook, and Joseph Gordin-Levitt.

Last, and most importantly, this movie is life-changing. If you’ve ever worked in the field of social justice, you will fall hook, line, and sinker. Here at Invisible Children, a resounding goal is to restore peace in LRA-affected communities and create sustainable lives for centuries to come. And as Lincoln is attempting to settle the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery, I couldn’t help but take note of this quote that sums up, well…everything.

This settles the fate for all coming time. Not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come. – Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Honest Abe hits the nail on the head every time.

(Photo credit: Rotten Tomatoes)