Presidents' Day vs. Washington's Birthday

The federal government of the United States should eliminate the Presidents' Day Holiday and restore Washington's Birthday in its place. The holiday, originally intended to honor the Father of our Country on his February 22 birthday, in addition to the celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12, has been diluted through focus on all of the presidents.

First of all, the holiday for George Washington's birthday commemorated Washington's whole contribution to American history, not only as president, but also as the general who won the American Revolution by defeating the greatest power in the world at the time, and as the Founding Father who helped develop the Constitution of the United States of America. Washington was the indispensable man of the Revolution, one of the most significant events in world history, without which there would have been no Lincoln. Even though Washington is revered by the American people, I believe that he is underrated by them as a general, as a Founding Father and as president.

The commemoration of Lincoln's birthday, however, usually focuses primarily on his presidency. Although it is convenient to combine Washington and Lincoln's birthdays into one holiday, the name of that holiday is not "Washington and Lincoln's Birthdays," but "Presidents' Day," which invites focus on which Presidents were the best and which were the worst. Therefore, any attention paid to our First President on Presidents' Day primarily focuses on his presidency instead of his overall contribution to the United States of America. The fact that Ronald Reagan's birthday is February 6 added to making February the month to honor all the Presidents, but honoring all of the presidents diminishes honoring the greatest ones.

Washington is a uniting figure because of his widely-perceived greatness, but Lincoln remains relatively polarizing because of the unresolved controversy of secession. Yet although most Americans admire Lincoln, the annual focus every Presidents' Day on presidential ratings is even more divisive. These dreaded ratings usually reflect the liberal bias of the raters, if not ignorance or stupidity. The attention on the worst-ranked Presidents, who seldom get much credit for the good they did, even were there is agreement about their ranking, is uninspiring. Indeed, two years ago, the media's main Presidents' Day story was on which presidential blunders were the worst. It was a terrible way to commemorate a holiday intended to inspire. Washington, however, is the most inspiring figure in American history.

The only American currently honored with a holiday for his birthday is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Columbus Day honors the Discoverer of America because it is named for him, but it is intended to honor the discovery of the New World itself, which is why it is celebrated on the anniversary of the discovery. Constitution Day is not even a holiday.

Washington alone deserves a holiday for his birthday. His contributions will ever outweigh those of any other American because he is the fountain of all that is American. The restoration of Washington's Birthday as a federal holiday would not only inspire and unite Americans, but educate them about one of the greatest figures in the history of the world.