Restore “Presidents’ Day” to Washington’s Birthday to Honor Him, Not the Presidency and Not Scoundrels

           As I have nearly every year, I again urge the restoration of Washington’s Birthday as a federal and state holiday, in both its name and scheduling. 

“Presidents’ Day” is the popular name and the typical name of state holidays for this federal holiday that is legally known as “Washington’s Birthday.”  The use of “Presidents’ Day” diminishes the emphasis on George Washington alone and only on his presidency, instead of his whole life as a military leader and Founding Father.  As a result, the focus on the holiday is on all of the other, less great, United States Presidents, including several scoundrels.  Today, as usual, for example, there are numerous media articles about the presidents other than Washington.  Because the holiday, under federal law, is never scheduled on his birthday, it further distracts from emphasis on Washington. 

Restoring the name of the holiday legally by the States and in popular use and rescheduling the holiday, at least to the Monday closest to Washington’s birthday, which would allow for it occasionally to be celebrated on his birthday, would allow for him to honored as intended and for contributions to be more greatly appreciated and for his example to be more inspiring. 

            This year, the foolishness of honoring all of the “Presidents” with their own holiday is even more apparent, both because it emphasizes the presidency over the other Branches of government and because of the unworthiness of honoring some of the Presidents, including the current holder of the office. 

The point I made in last year’s post about honoring the “Presidents” with a federal and state holiday and not the two other co-equal Branches of government, the legislative and the judicial, is even more fitting now, as the constitutional its checks and balances, based on the principle of the Separation of Powers, are increasingly necessary to restrain Donald Trump’s authoritarian impulses, imperiousness and kleptocratic practices. 

There degree of serious questions about the legitimacy of the election and the patriotism about a president, as with Trump, are unprecedented.  Honoring William Jefferson Clinton, who had protested the U.S. on foreign soil during the Cold War, as part of a Communist anti-American propaganda campaign, was appalling enough, even thought his actions preceded his presidency, let alone that he was impeached and ought not to have been acquitted.  But honoring Trump, who was reliant upon the assistance of the Russian Federation, a hostile foreign authoritarian state, for his election to the presidency and, in office, has remained loyal to his Russian benefactors instead of defending America proves abundantly the inappropriateness of honoring all the “Presidents” with a federal and state holiday.  Alas, even the regrettably necessary discussion of Clinton and Trump is detracting from focus on the greatness of Washington, although, in a way, it makes his greatness appear even more outstanding.  

The service and contributions of all of the Presidents, including before and after their presidencies, ought to be remembered and appreciated.  The great members of Congress and the Supreme Court deserve similar recognition, as do those institutions themselves.  But there is one person who, more than being a great president, was the indispensable man of the American Revolution and whose memory is more unifying than divisive.  George Washington the Great deserves to be honored above all other Americans with a federal and state holiday commemorating his birthday.