“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”     Abraham Lincoln - first inaugural address, 1861

I believe that America’s existing greatness currently faces an historically insidious challenge, but I have a profound faith in the fundamental goodness of this country of ours, a united nation which, despite immense flaws, has never ceased being great. 

Put simply, we need to recognize and embrace our “better angels,” now, as never before.

Better Angels is a personal response to what I consider a moral obligation and patriotic responsibility. I have been powerfully inspired by Toni Morrison’s observation: “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

Better Angels is printed by Peter Ralston in an edition of 44, plus 6 Artist’s Proofs. Throughout the edition Ralston Gallery will dedicate 20 percent of net proceeds to organizations in Maine that are working toward social inclusivity.

Peter Ralston lives in Rockport