The father of his country
Much has been written in praise of George Washington, and much more will be. The reverence and respect in which we hold our nation's first president is, I think, unequalled among America's historical figures.
Washington was not a god, of course, but merely a man. And it is in this regard that he stands head and shoulders above so many who have served this nation publicly. As mere men, our limitations and weaknesses are - or ought to be - most obvious to ourselves, and a fitting humility allows us to proceed properly and wisely with our lives, our families, our jobs. And beyond that, such a humility also allows others to develop a respect for us that is appropriate and a trust in us that is reasonable. This Washington did.
Rather than ranting about the obliteration from our calendars - and our hearts - of Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, I decided to re-read Washington's Farewell Address to the nation, given on the occasion of having served two terms as their President and declining to serve a third.
It is a beautiful speech, by any measure. But apart from his expressions of humility, what struck me at this reading was Washington's overwhelming concern for the success and endurance of the nation he had helped establish. He had staked so much - and for so long - on this project. (The Revolutionary War broke out while he was in his early 40s; he retired from the presidency at 65 and died only two years later.) His parting words to the nation were filled with concern for the preservation of that for which he had labored and sacrificed, his desire
We owe a debt of gratitude to George Washington for all that he gave for the founding and preservation of this nation. Would that God bless America with more leaders and patriots like him.
Washington was not a god, of course, but merely a man. And it is in this regard that he stands head and shoulders above so many who have served this nation publicly. As mere men, our limitations and weaknesses are - or ought to be - most obvious to ourselves, and a fitting humility allows us to proceed properly and wisely with our lives, our families, our jobs. And beyond that, such a humility also allows others to develop a respect for us that is appropriate and a trust in us that is reasonable. This Washington did.
Rather than ranting about the obliteration from our calendars - and our hearts - of Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, I decided to re-read Washington's Farewell Address to the nation, given on the occasion of having served two terms as their President and declining to serve a third.
It is a beautiful speech, by any measure. But apart from his expressions of humility, what struck me at this reading was Washington's overwhelming concern for the success and endurance of the nation he had helped establish. He had staked so much - and for so long - on this project. (The Revolutionary War broke out while he was in his early 40s; he retired from the presidency at 65 and died only two years later.) His parting words to the nation were filled with concern for the preservation of that for which he had labored and sacrificed, his desire
that heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence; that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained; that its administration in every department may be stamped with wisdom and virtue; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet a stranger to it.
We owe a debt of gratitude to George Washington for all that he gave for the founding and preservation of this nation. Would that God bless America with more leaders and patriots like him.
posted by Lear's Fool | 12:11 PM
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