Rosy Glow – Celebrations

 

 

By

Bob LaTorre

A look at a calendar of events for the year will show dozens of celebrations scheduled for nearly every day of the year. Every week is a commemorative for something and months are set aside for just about everything. Sad to say that people like George Washington, or at least his memory, get lost in the shuffle of National Pickle Week and Onion History Month.

We really like our holidays in this country and somewhere along the line we began timing our vacations to our honoring our heroes. Now we find that we are forgetting our heroes and just taking days off anyway.

I have nothing against long weekends, but it may be time to reassess our priorities. Let’s decide how many long weekends we want and just space them out through the year. Meantime let’s get back to honoring those who made sacrifices which gave us our great way of life.

I don’t think it would be bad if children went to school on the birthday of men like Lincoln and Washington. Nor would it be so bad if we worked on those days. As a matter of it could be better if we took a few minutes out of that day to remember our heroes.

There could be a special radio and TV Broadcast at, say eleven o’clock. It would last for perhaps five minutes and we could pause for that time and listen to a short biographical sketch of the person being honored. Then we could all go about our work and studies. While not a day off it would do more for our collective understanding of these men and woman than is now done when we take an entire day to supposedly honor their memory.

Today is the birthday of George Washington; he is in the minds of most older Americans, the Father of our Country. The cynicism of the times tends to questions such titles. On the other hand, history tends to make men such as Washington into something more than mere mortals.

The truth is that old George was a man no more no less. He was however a very special man, special, because he was called upon by events of his time. He gave in every sense of the word, a good shore of his life to the creation of this country, and to be sure much of that time was given against his personal wishes. While he accepted the glory bestowed upon him by the people of his times he wished that he could remain at home and tend to his farm, as he referred to it. His plantation is what we call it.

It was his character much more than his wealth, his education, his experience or even his intellect which was called upon so often by his peers.

He was not the most experienced military officer in the colonies at the time but he was accepted as a Virginian, to lead the New Englanders in war. Anyone who understands the feelings of the colonies for each other will know how difficult it was for such a thing to happen.

While he was a member of the “Aristocracy” at least as far as one existed in the colonies at the time, he had spent much of his life amongst ordinary people and slaves relate to them and to gain their trust and loyalty. He was chosen as chairman of the constitutional convention because he was known for his even handedness. Knowing how most of the delegates felt about each other makes this a remarkable reference for Washington.

Finally he was elected to the office of President. That was a position held in contempt by some Americans at that time. It was a job created after much debate and the majority of American Colonials worried more about the abuse of power of the presidency that of any other part of the newly created Federal Government. The truth is that Washington was probably the only man alive in the newly born nation that could have been elected as the first president.

Most importantly he was the perfect man for the job. He did not as he could have turned it into a royal position, nor did he option to hold it for life as he could easily have done. Instead he set a precedent which lasted for almost one hundred and fifty years.

We need to learn more about men like Washington, who set into place many of the basic concepts which make our country great. We will remain a great nation only so long as we adhere to those principles.

Just thinking about old George Washington on the anniversary of his birth should be enough without a day off, to give us all a cherry colored….Rosy Glow.