Monday, February 18, 2013

President's Day

For whatever it is worth, I am not a big fan of president's day. I can justify the celebration of Washington and Lincon because they represent our best values and common purpose. On the other hand, I see no reason to celebrate the office itself or all its other occupants. To celebrate Washington and Lincoln as equals in national leadership with the likes of James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon is a bit insulting to not only our first and sixteenth presidents, but to the celebration of the holiday itself. Why celebrate Watergate? Johnson's Reconstruction policy? Buchanan's pro-slavery position on Kansas? Sure, I picked some of the worst examples possible, and there were pleny of other good and decent presidents who did some good and decent things. But that is exactly my point. Why lump them all together?