Happy Birthday, George Washington

     George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. By all accounts he was a fine, upstanding young man. These youthful years soon gave way to a career in the military where he showed exceptional talent, especially during the French and Indian War, before we became a nation. He then showed even greater military talent in leading a bunch of underfed, outmanned, and outgunned men to victory against the most powerful army in the world, thus earning our independence. His military career/exploits led, as they often do, to politics where he was elected as the first president of these United States of America. All that's not enough? Then, after being elected to a second term, he said to the country, "Two terms is enough." And he walked. Gave up the power and prestige and whatever. The man could have been elected dictator for life! That's how beloved he was. But he walked and returned to being a humble citizen. With this one act he changed the course of history. He proved that leaders could resist the temptation of power and turn over that power to the citizenry. Think about that. 

    But this isn't an attempt at biography or history. There are plenty of wonderful biographies of Washington and histories of that time period. And I would encourage everyone, especially the intelligent readers of this blog, to read them! I dare say it is your duty. 

    What this is about is something that has annoyed me for a long time. Back in 1879, Congress made Washington's Birthday a federal holiday. We actually paid homage to the "Father of Our Country." There were parades, fireworks, and ceremonies. However, as Congress has a tendency to do, they screwed things up. They came up with The Uniform Monday Holiday Act in order to move the observation of Washington's birthday to a floating date, the third Monday of February, which would at times bring Washington's celebration closer to Lincoln's birthday on February 12. This way they could combine the celebrating of our two greatest presidents. What could go wrong.

    And here we again run into my favorite law, "The Law of Unintended Consequences." Even though Congress has never changed the name "Washington's Birthday", the car and mattress sales people said, "Hey, let's create President's Day and see how many dopes will believe we're giving them the deal of a lifetime in honor of Ulysses S. Grant and Richard Nixon!" 

    Well, it seems to have worked. Not many people know that the third Monday of February is still officially known as Washington's Birthday. It's just President's Day to them. Even my iPad, iPhone, and iMac have President's Day in the iCalendar with no mention of Washington's Birthday on February 22. And yet, many countries around the world honor the great leaders of their past; India, Israel, England, Mexico, the Philippines, etc. Here in America we rightly honor Martin Luther King. He's the only individual who is singularly celebrated. His contribution to our nation makes his national day a no-brainer. We didn't come up with a "Civil Rights Leader Day" did we? No, we honor him, personally. So wouldn't you think that we could have a national holiday for Washington and Lincoln, as well? I mean, talk about a national trifecta! 

    Anyway, getting back to Washington, we seem to have lost the perspective of Washington's greatness. Some have spent time trying to tie him to modern-day racism. The less learned have vandalized statues and equated his flaws to defining characteristics. They've done this without deep reading and understanding that he was, for his time, one of the most advanced thinking founding fathers on the issues of race. The irony is, he's revered by people around the world. Especially those that live under tyrannical regimes where the leaders don't just walk away. 

    It's time to revere him here, in the land of his birth. The land that he helped create. Celebrate him individually; not just in a generic celebration of presidents. I mean, do we really want to have Washington, and Lincoln for that matter, thrown into the same pot as Trump and Biden and Nixon? REALLY??? Let's return our first Founding Father to his rightful place. Enjoy his birthday tomorrow and if only for a minute, remind yourself that we are heirs to an incredible legacy. George Washington's legacy.

write to: magtour@icloud.com