Time to Re-Assess How We Celebrate Presidents Day By Rob Kall

[Demeter]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_080218_time_to_re_assess_ho.htm


Presidents day-- what a tragic shadow our current White House executive has cast upon the idea of the presidency. I've said it before. It cannot be said often enough. George W. Bush is not only the worst president in US history, he is the most hated, despised person in human history. (There were several billion less people on the planet when Hitler lived. )

The world must surely be praying, hoping and waiting with bated breath to see the outcome of the 2008 presidential race. Will right wing forces of extremism and toxic religious madness continue to drag the US down, lower and lower?

Will the elected leaders of the US continue to fail to represent the will of their consituents?

On the other hand, America has had its share of fools, failures and sell-outs for president. Maybe we should celebrate presidents day as a day to be extra careful watching your back, making sure you have the right to vote, making sure you are not being ripped off while you're distracted with something else going on.

Oh, sure, we've had good guys like Washington and Jefferson. But we've also had some very bad leaders, most recently the Bush family, Reagan and the guy who signed us up with NAFTA and the WTO.

Yep. I think the thing to do is to end presidents day as a school holiday. It should be a day when kids are taught a civics lesson in all the ways president have screwed up and screwed the USA. Oh, they could also study Jimmy Carter-- an example of how to leave the presidency and do an even better job with the balance of one's life.

That would be a better reflection of the history of the presidents. Less Glory, more reality.





Authors Bio:
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor and organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.

[GTurck]

1. Forgotten..

is that "President's Day" was coined for the express purpose of giving us another 3 day weekend, except for those who work in service and retail. When I was a child we celebrated Lincoln's birthday on Feb. 12 and Washington's on Feb. 22. Two holidays in commemoration of 2 outstanding presidents. We spend the month of February learning what made these men great. Now I don't have a clue what my grandchildren learn about the history and biographies of these two or the other 3 really great presidents we have had. We,sadly, should not be celebrating the mediocre, corrupt and venial men who were sent to the White House by the power of money.

[Felix Mala]

2. When I was in school we got little cherry tarts on Washington's birthday....

Seriously, the wig and britches boys who founded the country are so remote, it's difficult for us to get our minds around. That's why it's so easy for Neocons to twist everything they said and did to their favor, although their motivations and desires were far different than our experiences, so different as to be almost alien.

Lincoln, however, is a much easier to grasp, at least for me. If students can come away with a firm grasp of what Lincoln did for the country, I think the rest of it falls into place. (Just ignore the Neocon clap-trap that Lincoln rearranged what America was all about...)

[GTurck]

3. I remember cherry pies..

which varied-like politics-from pretty good to plain awful. Sorry to all the moms who tried and failed.
Now my grandson can name all of the presidents from Washington to Bush II but has little background on any of them, all he knows is what he gets from TV and his parents. His parents hate LBJ so he thought the Civil Rights Bill and Voting Rights Bill were accomplished under JFK. We are beginning to talk about past presidents but have to leave out any mention of the Bush's' and Bill Clinton. He can't understand the difference between being political and being corrupt. Many voters may not understand that yet.
The neocons would twist anything to serve their agenda and unfortunately have twisted American and World History so badly that only a real effort to make it understandable and pertinent will get us back to some fresh momentum as a country and idea.
Thanks for the comment and the reminder.