COMMENTARY: Presidents' Day

By Judge Michael Warren This week we celebrated Presidents' Day by being subjected to commercials and ads for those wonderful appliance and carpet sales. If you are a government or bank employee or a student, you likely had the day off. In any event, it was hardly worth the bother. The holiday is so empty that a quick Google search reveals several different spellings--"Presidents" and "Presidents'" and "President's" are all used interchangeably. Perhaps no one cares how to spell it because most find difficulty in expressing passion for an entire class of political leaders (think "Mayors' Day" or "Senators' Day"). This is especially true when the Presidents present at best a mixed bag of brilliance, irrelevance, and mischief. Grouping Washington, Madison, and Lincoln with Pierce, Harding, and Nixon presents quite a stew. Time to end the agony--and the holiday. On the other hand, we need to revive Washington's Birthday. He was truly the indispensable man. Washington's scouting party wandered into a skirmish that sparked the French and Indian War. That skirmish, in turn, caused the massive debt that led to taxation without representation and the accompanying onslaught on American liberties. When the American Revolution began, Washington was tapped to lead the newly formed Continental Army. General Washington courageously kept those ragtag troops together in the darkest of times, and stunned the world with an improbable victory over the greatest empire on the planet. Washington astonished the world again by voluntarily retiring and returning to Mount Vernon. History was not done with him, however, and the retired general was called back into service in a civilian capacity--to preside over the drafting of the Constitution. He vigorously rejected overtures to establish a monarchy with him as King. Instead, he became the first elected President, creating the precedents Presidents have relied upon ever since. He shocked the world a third time by voluntarily stepping down after two terms. When he heard this news, his life-long nemesis King George III declared Washington the "greatest character of the age." In a resolution passed by the House of Representatives following Washington's death, Richard Henry Lee summarized America's thoughts that he was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Today, he is all but last. Washington is often remembered more for wooden teeth, possessing slaves, and supposedly chopping down a cherry tree. Although he had more talent, resolve, determination, honor, dedication, and leadership than most of the rest of his successors put together, his birthday is lumped in with that of the incompetents, scandal ridden, and impeached. This dishonor should no longer be tolerated. This is why Washington holds a prominent position in Patriot Week. With my daughter Leah, I have been leading an effort to renew America's spirit by celebrating Patriot Week from September 11-17 (the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution). Michigan kicked off the inaugural Patriot Week in 2009--and it has been growing in Michigan and across the country since. This grassroots effort is celebrated by schools, colleges, rotaries, Daughters of the American Revolution, senior centers, senior living centers, libraries, and governments. A large part of Patriot Week is to commemorate key Founding Fathers and other great Patriots that made our founding First Principles come alive in America. We celebrate Washington and emphasize his role in creating the Social Compact that has become America. In his First Inaugural Address, Washington explained that "the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." As the heirs of that experiment, we must maintain that sacred fire of liberty. By drawing upon Washington, we can keep that fire illuminated. We ignore him at great risk to our survival as a free people. Let's show the world we are up to the challenge of freedom by vigorously celebrating Washington's Birthday and Patriot Week. Join us. ---------------- Michael Warren is an Oakland County Circuit Court judge, co-creator of Patriot Week (PatriotWeek.org), and author of "America's Survival Guide" (AmericasSurvivalGuide.com). Published: Fri, Feb 24, 2012