Restore Washington's Birthday as a Unifying Holiday, Instead of Exacerbating Divisions over Other Presidents

I post every year that Washington’s Birthday should be restored as a holiday, which is the legal name of the federal holiday, but not that of most States in the American Union and not in common parlance, as it is usually referred to as “Presidents’ Day” or some iteration thereof, and the holiday is never celebrated on George Washington’s February 22 birthday. I note the day is intended to honor Washington not only for his presidency, but for his contributions as the General who led the Continental Army to victory in the War of American Independence and as a Founding Father of the United States. The focus on the presidency on this holiday thus limits the focus of his greatness only to one aspect, while the focus on Presidents in general detracts greatly from Washington, who is not only the first and greatest President, but the indispensable man of the American Revolution. I have noted how this mis-directed focus includes honoring scoundrels or discussing presidential errors. This year, it especially is divisive because of a greater than usual focus on ratings of the Presidents by historians. Such ratings are always controversial, but are exacerbated by the obvious ideological bias of the historians toward the left, although nowadays there is also some danger of bias by some on the far right. Furthermore, historians should know better than to judge incumbent Presidents, without sufficient perspective, let alone access to the full historical record, which even makes it difficult for historians to judge recent predecessors fully. Thus, instead of the holiday serving as a unifying event, in practice it exacerbates the divisions harming America. Restore Washington’s Birthday as the name of State holidays and in thus in common parlance, observe it on February 22, and focus on the greatness of Washington as an inspiring example to Americans of civic duty and respect for liberty, equality, and representative government.