I bet you wonder why I didn’t add anything special to my blog this past Monday.  After all, that was the day that America celebrated “President’s Day”.   Having killed the holiday celebrating Abraham Lincoln (12th of February) and today (George Washington’s birthday) to combine them for one.

First of all, I like traditions.  Not changing them to fit the whims of corporate bosses who fret about how many holidays we get to celebrate.  Moreover, since it’s President’s Day- I have NO desire to celebrate the memory of Tricky Dick, ‘One day I’ll make a decision before the facts’ Jimmy Carter, and certainly NOT the current denizen of the White House, who is working hard to ensure that Tricky Dick won’t be the most corrupt administration of my lifetime.

Now, I have to admit there is a problem with today.  You see, George Washington was not born on the 22nd of February.

Nope.  He was born on the 11th of February, but in 1752, the US (thanks to Mother England) adopted a new calendar that meant that the 11th of February, 1732 would forever be known as 22 February 1732.  (Are you confused yet?   That’s what happens when you elect to change the calendar.)

George Washington became our First President after he commandeered our decrepit troops to garner freedom from the British Monarchy.  (And, if you’ve caught Hamilton the musical, you can recall all the help Alexander provided George- as our commanding general and as our first President.)

The good thing for me is that I live in Alexandria, Virginia.  The city considers their hometown boy, George Washington, a pretty important fellow. (Kind of like how Charlottesville [back when I lived there] never acknowledged that Thomas Jefferson was no longer around.  You’d have thought he was the mayor of the town.)

So, here in Alexandria, we have a big parade (‘the largest and oldest parade celebrating Washington’s birthday’), lots of hoopla, and visiting tourists galore. (Of course, Washington’s adopted home, Mount Vernon is officially in Fairfax County, just south of this fair city.  And, Alexandria had their parade on Monday.)

President George Washington had to control a diverse set of arguments- Jefferson and Hamilton were at each other’s throats, citizens with different heritages, interests, values (remember the country was brand new under Washington’s presidency)- and he had to steer us clear of any wars, since we needed to recover from our War of Independence.  (I would actually say the war with England continued, kind of like the Middle East Wars, until the end of the War of 1812 [ended on the ides of February 1815], some 42 years after it started with the Boston Tea Party.)

George Washington served as our Commander-In-Chief during the Revolutionary War (which is one of the reasons that the US President is  always designated as our Commander-In-Chief).  He also served as chairman of our Constitutional Convention.  More importantly, George Washington refused to become King- and, as such, preserved our nation as a Republic and not a monarchy.  (Something TheDonald would like to reverse, it seems.)

George also knew that theatrics were going to be a critical part of his job.  (Just like his business acumen was necessary to keep the Continental Army going.  With cash flow problems, management issues, and the like- he had to be like every other small business manager.)

Washington managed to help guide the formation of a country from the cacophony of 13 separate, disparate colonies (which became our first states).  He had no model for such a union, one with the ideals of individual responsibility and freedom, one with no overriding traditions of its own.  In so doing, Washington left this country relatively united, in peace and prosperity.

When Washington died, his acclaim as one of the greatest men who ever lived helped secure his place in the pantheon of great Presidents.

Happy Birthday, George!   You deserve our praise.  Even if we stole your holiday from you.