"Thoughts on Presidents Day"

I’m old enough to recall when America celebrated LINCOLN’S birthday on February 12th and WASHINGTON’s on the 22nd. I especially liked ABE’S because I got off from school on my BD that way!! Even in the Newark, NJ School System, BOTH of those Presidents were heralded for their HONESTY....George for his “I cannot tell a lie, it was I”(who chopped down the Cherry tree) and “Honest Abe” for his, well, HONESTY!!

Then, they combined BOTH holidays into ONE and called it “Presidents Day.” Eventually, it was NO LONGER just about those two Presidents, but it somehow became about ALL Presidents, good or bad, memorable or forgettable, honest or dishonest. At first, “Presidents Day” seemed like a good idea as it guaranteed workers a three day weekend. Now, though, we suffer from Presidential Overload and the virtues of honesty and integrity are diluted more and more and more. NIXON, CLINTON and OBAMA are celebrated by some today, while others of us recall with fondness REAGAN and TRUMP.

Washington is being remembered mostly for owning slaves and LINCOLN is known for FREEING them. The virtues of Honesty and Truthfulness are no longer what defines these men, in the eyes of many. It’s their relationship to the sins of SLAVERY which defines them now.

Eventually, if we keep going the way we are, the memories of our Presidents won’t just get diluted, they’ll get DELETED and “Presidents Day” will be one big, meaningless glob of NOTHING....subsumed, perhaps by Black History Month, Obama and Kamala...even though neither were even BORN in February.

Let’s go back to celebrating Abe (on the 12th), and George (on the 22nd) and maybe add in REAGAN, who was born on Feb. 6th, 110 years ago!! Because “Presidents Day,” as it is NOW, while pretending to be all-inclusive, is just dividing us MORE and Presidential Honesty is being lost year by year. Look at BIDEN.....does HE deserve to be celebrated with Lincoln and Washington??

I rest my case.