Published: February 16, 2008 10:08 pm            

VASICEK: About Presidents Day

Let me lay three questions on you. (1) Why did Abe Lincoln grow a beard? Because he wanted to look like that man on the five-dollar bill! (2) Why did the man glue a beard on his Ford? He wanted everyone to think it was a Lincoln. (3) Why don’t we celebrate Lincoln’s birthday? Well, we used to! It’s a long story ...

When I was a child in Illinois, there was no such holiday as “Presidents Day.” We celebrated both Washington’s birthday (Feb. 22) and Lincoln’s birthday (Feb. 12).

According to Wikipedia, Lincoln’s birthday was never a federal holiday, whereas Washington’s birth had warranted federal status since 1880. Many states, including Illinois (where I grew up) and Indiana, chose to celebrate Lincoln’s birthday. That meant “no school” for both dates – we kids felt we should have a day off for every president’s birthday (and the vice presidents’ as well!).

When Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday became a federal holiday, most states combined the dual celebrations (Washington and Lincoln) into one celebration, Presidents Day. As www.almanac.com puts it:

“... [T]he birthday of President George Washington is February 22, 1732. When the Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971, the federal observance of Washington’s Birthday was moved from ... February 22 to the third Monday in February, making for a three-day weekend for many workers. Several states, however, have officially named this day Presidents’ Day to honor both Washington and Lincoln (whose birthday was on February 12, 1809), or all U.S. presidents.”

Although what we call Presidents Day is still technically “Washington’s Birthday,” more and more Americans do view Presidents Day as a holiday to honor all our chief executives. In my opinion, that is a great idea: Americans need a refresher course in honoring all our presidents – past and present.

If I were president, I know exactly what I would do: I would resign and turn everything over to the vice president! Although hundreds or thousands of Americans may aspire to the chief executive’s job, the presidency is way beyond almost all of us.

Take the stress of the presidency. Many of us are stressed to the max trying to eke out a living and raise our families. Compared to the presidency, kid’s stuff.

I look in the mirror, and I see an old man. He might be a handsome devil, but he’s not the young man he used to be. But have you ever noticed how rapidly our presidents age while in office? Eight years is a good amount of time, but retiring presidents tend to look 20 years older (except for Reagan!). If you think your life is stressed, how would you like to be responsible for protecting 300 million Americans?

Presidents have always had their opponents. OK, Washington had it pretty easy. But from John Adams and forward, politics has been messy and dirty. Lincoln was so hated that a good chunk of the country seceded from the union because of his election!

Americans used to respect the presidency, even if they disliked the man in office (or disagreed with his policies). The level of satire and mockery has moved way beyond the realm of political cartoons. Although disrespect for authority is a trademark of the Baby Boom generation, we have gotten out of hand. Presidents Clinton and Bush have not been shown the respect due them for their office. We can argue about the propriety of their decisions, disagree with their decisions, and campaign for individuals we believe will do a better job. But we need to learn to respect the office, even if we cannot respect the man (or woman). We have fallen too far.

Whether you are a conservative, a liberal, or a moderate, there are voices out there representing your perspective – but defending your views in a contemptible manner. Politics is a nasty business, but how you wage the war matters as much as the war you wage. Let’s honor all our presidents with respect – not just the dead ones.

Ed Vasicek is pastor of Highland Park Church and a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune.

        

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