What Does It Mean to be "Presidential"?

In most years, Presidents Day comes and goes as just another long weekend, with a vague notion that we are honoring someone or something. But given all that is going on in our government and across the country, this holiday should have a larger meaning for all of us. It should remind us of why the position is so important to our country, and the President’s obligations to the American people.

None of this was particularly in the front of my mind as I went to church on Sunday. But each week, our pastor writes a thoughtful note in the church bulletin, effectively a blog post, and this week’s letter was about the meaning of Presidents Day. I will admit that I’m old enough to remember when we celebrated both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington’s birthday as separate holidays. The pastor’s blog post (see excerpts below and the full post at the end) reminded me why – and why this holiday should matter to us in a most profound way this year.  In Father Whitney's words:

"Certainly, Washington was flawed and hypocritical, filled with forms of arrogance and the distrust of common people that was typical of the age and situation in which he lived. Likewise, Lincoln was not the simple rail-splitter from Illinois, but had a knack for political intrigue and a certain ruthless pragmatism in his desire to preserve the Union. They were both people of their time—and yet, like all of us, they had a capacity to be something more, as well. For, sinner though he was, Washington was also one who chose, at great personal loss, to join the Revolution, risking his life and fortune for the common good; one who desired the ultimate abolition of slavery in the United States (even while, hypocritically, benefiting from it); one who accepted personal attacks on his character as the price of a free press; and one who governed humbly, giving up the reigns of power when no one could have taken them from him."

It is easy for us to lose sight of how turbulent the times were during the American Revolution and the formative years of our great nation. What makes Washington Mount Rushmore qualified -- and in fact, the most qualified -- was his ability to unify a nation, indeed create a nation, from the colonial pieces of immigrants and transplants.

Father Whitney continues:

"Likewise, Lincoln, though plagued with melancholy and suffering great personal loss, stood firm in the breech when others ran; preached resistance in the face of rebellion and healing amid the calls for vengeance. And if he believed, as his culture told him, that black people were inferior, he struggled for their liberation, nonetheless, when he could have chosen not to. Though scarred by the age in which they lived (the “original sin” of the age) and by their own histories, Washington and Lincoln still came to see farther than those around them, and chose paths that allowed their country...our country...to develop in a way previously unknown on earth..."

Our nation is in the midst of another period of turbulence and unrest. No doubt that will lead to some forks in the road where we will all have to choose. The important question is whether, like Washington and Lincoln, we will have the grace and fortitude to rise above the biases of our times, and make choices that lead us to greater prosperity. Can we all understand the need to be "Presidential?"

Here is Father Whitney's Full blog post:

http://newsletters.webkey.us/t/ViewEmailArchive/y/5BD2F0F53FEA1AC9/C67FD2F38AC4859C/