Posted on 02/18/2008 4:27:06 PM PST by FreePoster
This is ridiculous. We have "President's Day" celebrated today and the only sign of it, other than empty schools and government offices, are the ads for white sales at the department stores and a funny television ad I saw for "Millard Fillmore Soap on a Rope."
Thank you, Richard Nixon. Until his President's Day proclamation in 1971, and subsequent legislation, we had separate holidays for both Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and George Washington on February 22. Not all states celebrated both, and the days came close together, but so what? School children routinely made studies about the lives of these two great leaders, usually regarded as our two most significant presidents, and in the process each generation learned some history. Now the dates pass unobserved because we are saving ourselves for "President's Day", when, however, the kiddies go on vacation.
Why is it that whenever we add new school curricula goals we effectively "pay" for them by neglecting studies that occupied students in the past? The price we pay is growing ignorance of American history and our representative form of government (once studied as "civics").
What we get now is this February oddity. What is President's Day, anyhow, other than an excuse to sweep two previous holidays into the closet where the Nehru jacket and Grandma's dial telephone are stored?
Accordingly, George Washington is regarded today almost as a cartoon figure, someone whose name, if mentioned, leads people to talk of silly irrelevancies, such as the legend of the cherry tree or his use of wooden false teeth in old age. These are ways to trivialize the greatest statesman of the Western Hemisphere when, instead, his life's story should be used to inspire. In country after country some leader is revered as "the George Washington" of that land. But in America, Washington is treated as a place name, at best.
Around the hearth of our televisions and computers, we now express ourselves in the style of irony, seek sensation, and at least pretend to cherish sarcasm. Like teenagers, we delight in bad taste. Washington, on the other hand, stood for idealism, reflection, self-control and public spirit. Do we secretly resent him?
Where are the newspaper essays today on Washington, the magazine articles on his sense of honor and decorum, the way he maintained a politically neutral public face while helping forge political unity behind the scenes, his establishment of the principle of civilian authority over the military, his advancement of religious liberty, and his myriad contributions to establishment of constitutional government? Washington was a smart man, exemplary in his piety, an innovator, a force in the development of the new American capital city that was to be named for him later.
Holidays are teaching occasions, not just excuses for taking vacations.
As a practical suggestion, the Congress could authorize states to recognize either Lincoln's birthday, or Washington's, as a holiday; or it could make the birthdays alternate as official national holidays on the annual calendar--one year Lincoln would be honored, the next Washington.
Giving these great leaders their due only every other year would, in reality, give each 100 percent more attention than either is getting now.
Bruce Chapman is president of the Discovery Institute.
In today’s America Online poll of “The Greatest Presidents”, George Washington actually came in BEHIND John F. Kennedy, and JUST ahead of Bill “I Never Had Sex with that Woman” Clinton.
I weep for our country.
I was thinking about this very subject today.
It would be better to keep the kids in school and let them study history. Let’s abolish the holiday.
And while we’re at it, if we must have a Black History Month, can we please make it January so that it coincides with the MLK birthdate instead of focusing on ethnicity for the first two months of every year?
My rant for the evening.
No, you ignoramus. It's all because the PC police wanted a Martin Luther King holiday. Instead of having Washington's B'day and Lincoln's B'day as holidays, we now have President's Day and MLK Day. Nobody wanted to add an extra holiday for MLK so they kept two holidays.
MLK is the only Person to have his own Federal Holiday. Even Jesus now has to share his BD with “Winter Holiday”!
Let’s rename “MLK Day” as “Diversity Day”!
I can only imagine how the public schools teach Civics today. It probably centers around leftist activism. History is probably taught as a propaganda tool for the same purpose.
Everyone, teach your kids about these things yourself. If you think their school does, check and make sure.
snicker.
I KNOW who it is....but ask a public schooler or a demoncrap WHO it is and what makes him special and you'll find a deer in your headlights!
It’s been reduced to idiots dressed in colonial attire shilling for a JC Penny’s weekend sale.
I had to call the State of RI’s adoption board today. State employees, you know. I expected to find the office closed, but they were open. I exclaimed this to the woman with whom I spoke, and she said, “No we get MLK Jr day off instead.”
I was thinking just that.
To call today Presidents Day is to do an injustice to our greatest President and the man without whom we would not have a republic of our own. Yes, we have had some great Presidents since, but none as great as George Washington.
Is that photo-shop or is that real?
This entire column is built upon a belief in an urban legend. There is no such Federal holiday as “Presidents’ Day”—it’s still “Washington’s Birthday.”
And blaming Nixon is wrong, too. There was a newspaper SPOOF written to ridicule Nixon...but the actual change in dates was from the 1968 Uniform Holidays Bill that moved the recognition for Washington’s Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday of the month.
not sure.
Below is from George Washington’s Farewell Address!
Warns against the party system.
“It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....
agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one....
against another....
it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption...
thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.”
Stresses the importance of religion and morality.
“Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths,
which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?”
On stable public credit.
“...cherish public credit.
One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible...
avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt....
it is essential that you...bear in mind, that towards the payments of debts there must be Revenue,
that to have Revenue there must be taxes;
that no taxes can be devised, which are not...inconvenient and unpleasant...”
Warns against permanent foreign alliances.
“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world...”
I suppose Columbus wasn't a person?
BTW, turns out Snopes has a page on this legend that claims that Washington's Birthday is "Presidents Day."
MLK was a man of enormous charisma and courage and certainly a pivotal figure in the civil rights movement. There is much about him that I admire. An assesment of his life could creditably yield the adjective of great. Despite that, he does not deserve to be the ONLY American with his own holiday named after him. That honor should be reserved for only one person in American history, the greatest of all Americans, George Washington. More so than any other SINGLE figure in our history, he was the “indispensable man.” Without his courage, acumen, honor, and integrity, the US would simply not exist, and if it did, it probably would have been as a monarchy and certainly not as a constitutional republic.
MLK’s birthday was a sop to PC and a reflection of the DemocRAT Congress that voted it. The depth of MLK’s association with the most anti-freedom ideaology (Communism)of our time will prove to very embarrassing when it is fully revealed. Additionally, MLK’s legacy to the modern day civil rights movement is a socialist bequeathment, that of looking to big government solutions for many of the behavioral problems in today’s black community. MLK continues to cast a long shadow over most of the modern day civil rights establishment and black politicians who largely reject free market, educationally based solutions to the unique problems plaguing the black community.
Regardless of the details of how it came to be this way, I think it needs to be reasserted as Washington’s Birthday.
My young neighbor thinks it’s the day to buy bedding and towels.
From the Prayer Journal of George Washington -—
“Most Gracious Lord God, from whom proceedeth every good and perfect gift, I offer to thy divine majesty my unfeigned praise & thanksgiving for all thy mercies towards me. Thou mad’st me at first and hast ever since sustained the work of thy own hand; thou gav’st thy Son to die for me; and hast given me assurance of salvation, upon my repentance and sincerely endeavoring to conform my life to his holy precepts and example. Thou art pleased to lengthen out to me the time of repentance and to move me to it by thy spirit and by the word, by thy mercies, and by thy judgments; out of a deepness of thy mercies, and by my own unworthiness, I do appear before thee at this time; I have sinned and done very wickedly, be merciful to me, O God, and pardon me for Jesus Christ sake; instruct me in the particulars of my duty, and suffer me not to be tempted above what thou givest me strength to bear. Take care, I pray thee of my affairs and more and more direct me in thy truth, defend me from my enemies, especially my spiritual ones. Suffer me not to be drawn from thee, by the blandishments of the world, carnal desires, the cunning of the devil, or deceitfulness of sin. work in me thy good will and pleasure, and discharge my mind from all things that are displeasing to thee, of all ill will and discontent, wrath and bitterness, pride & vain conceit of myself, and render me charitable, pure, holy, patient and heavenly minded. be with me at the hour of death; dispose me for it, and deliver me from the slavish fear of it, and make me willing and fit to die whenever thou shalt call me hence. Bless our rulers in church and state. bless O Lord the whole race of mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowledge of Thee and thy son Jesus Christ. Pity the sick, the poor, the weak, the needy, the widows and fatherless, and all that morn or are borken in heart, and be merciful to them according to their several necessities. bless my friends and grant me grace to forgive my enemies as heartily as I desire forgiveness of Thee my hevenly Father. I beseech thee to defend me this night from all evil, and do more for me than I ccan think or ask, for Jesus Christ sake, in whose most holy name & words, I continue to pray, Our Father, & c. “
The politicians don’t like Washington because he set a bad example of putting his country ahead of his own interests. He above all deserves a special day of national celebration.
OMG, I was really hoping that was fake.
“And while we’re at it, if we must have a Black History Month, can we please make it January so that it coincides with the MLK birthdate instead of focusing on ethnicity for the first two months of every year?”
My husband has to listen to this rant from me EVERY year, poor man. I am sick of it. If they want to do an ethnicity, rotate them or something. Japanese Hx month, Irish History month, German History month, Norwegian history month, etc. Hopefully, after a while, people would see the insanity of all of this.
With Washington removed from the federal calendar (kinda like taking a Saint of the Church calendar, I guess), I believe that there are now only three federal holiday named after people, and only one of them is an American.
By the way, Christmas is still on the federal calendar despite what locals might call it.
Thanks! NOW I remember where I found that!
I gotta remember to make note of such things.
Classes were on today in our local school district — no President’s Day holiday for us. However, MLK Day was a holiday. Something’s wrong with that picture.
Change it back! It’s my BD as well! When I was a lil shaver of about four, my Mom had me convinced everyone was celebrating MY Birthday... lol! I sure miss her...
Right. We have these holidays so that we can remember... what was it we’re supposed to remember?
The National Archives says that today is the “Washington’s Birthday” holiday — with the following caveat: “ This holiday is designated as ‘Washington’s Birthday.’ Though other institutions such as state and local governments and private businesses may use other names, it is Federal policy to always refer to holidays by the names designated in the law.”
Perhaps we should rename MLK Day as "Civil Rights Day" to honor all who gave their lives, black or white, for civil rights.
20 years from now, MLK day will become “Famous Afro-Americans Day,” assuming we’re still using the term “Afro-American.”
If we’re going to rename days, we could rename Labor Day as Ronald Reagan Day.
Interesting bit of historical trivia:
The above was painted by int'l renowned American artist Gilbert Stuart. Though a thorough professional, Stuart was also human...and a passionate supporter of Thomas Jefferson, who, at the time this portrait was done, was at logger heads with Washington. Apparently this painting shows Stuart's unconscious prejudice against Washington. Many who saw the work declared it didn't look that much like Washington. Martha Washington, always the lady, considered it a "disappointment".
Not too many years later, in 1785 or so, later Mrs. Washington commissioned this bust -- original in plaster --by Jean Antoine Houdon. At the time Washginton was in his mid-50's. Those who saw the bust agreed it looked much more like Washington than did Stuart's painting.
But for some reason the painting became famous -- and with it our imagine of General Washington -- while the bust has pretty much been confined to the top shelf of the back closet of history.
==================
(I know all this b/c a year and a half ago -- after reading about this in a bio -- I wrote this up in/for the Wiki article on GW. Heaven only knows if its even still there. My pieces on Madison and Jefferson sure didn't.)
I find it in extremely poor taste to celebrate MLK’s birthday given his socialist leanings, plagiarism, etc. So every January, when the designated day rolls around, I celebrate Ben Franklin’s birthday. We owe much to him as free Americans.
But I concur 100% It needs to be made plain that this is Washington's Birthday. It should be celebrated on 2/22. In fact, all the monday holidays (created to give labor unions three-day weekends) should be moved back to their original days of celebration (as Veteran's Day was in 1978).
Oh, and we should get rid of daylight savings time.
I suppose it is hardly necessary to point out that while Washington (and Lincoln) have been forgotten, MLK is treated much more reverently. But of course, MLK represents the "progressive" thesis of history while Washington (and Lincoln) represent the "ee-vil" and reactionary antithesis.
“empty schools?” no everywhere. I know of school (universities) open today, but not on MLK day. Can’t understand that one.
I will always be able to say that I share my birthday with the First President of the United States. (Unfortunately, I also share it with Ted - hiccup - Kennedy.)
And of historical note: on my 11th birthday, the U.S. hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in ice hockey, the “Miracle on Ice”.
“I suppose Columbus wasn’t a person?”
Correction: Mlk does not deserve to be the ONLY American with his own holiday named after him.
Ignorance of our past is by design.
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