Presidents' Day: Honoring Patriotic Love and Freedom
Leftists / wokeists / Marxists are intent on destroying America's statues and the men and women they honor in order to erase the founding principles of our great nation. In light of this vandalism - both literal and figurative - it's important to understand the importance of honoring those who founded and perpetuated the fundamental values of America.
Paul Krause explains this in his 20 February 2023 American Thinker article: Presidents’ Day is About Patriotic Love and Freedom:
It is now fashionable to deride our presidents as part of the woke deconstruction and desecration of America. Two of America’s most noble presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whom Presidents’ Day honors most especially, are routinely scrutinized by the vandals running through our country and institutions. Why?
The two most consequential presidents are the ones whom the woke despise most. Washington is the "Father" of the United States. But what America is he the father of? The America of liberty, the rule of law, and defender of freedom or the America of racism, white supremacy, and historical injustices? Likewise, Lincoln held the union together, is remembered as the Great Emancipator, and ensured that a united America would stride into the next century in which the United States would be the great bastion of freedom against the totalitarianisms of modernity....
The hatred of Washington is very straightforward. Humans live by stories. Because we live by stories, Washington is the central figure in whom two stories of America can be told: the America of liberty, justice, and the rule of law or the America of racism and injustice....
This story of America as an oppressor writ large is pernicious on many levels. First, it inculcates a spirit of desecration into the hearts and souls of the next generation... Second, this story destroys individuality and agency by flattening everyone to historic actions which we are but the outgrowth expression of. It is meant to destroy notions of individual liberty and freedom by saying we are guilty of past actions or victims of past actions. Third, it negates the heroic sacrifices Americans have made, from settlement to today, in the advancement of liberty and justice for all - both in America and for the world....
The attack on America’s presidents is an attack on the understanding we have of ourselves and what story guides our hearts and souls. Presidents’ Day is a reminder of what is good in America, the America of liberty that Washington so valiantly fought for and the America of liberty and equality that Lincoln so nobly stood for....
We must ensure that America doesn’t slip into the totalitarian temptation....
These articles offer additional background information:
Amid Personal Loss, Washington And Lincoln Became Fathers Of Their Country, by Matthew Mehan, The Federalist, 20 February 2023.
Why Do We Celebrate President's Day? - The holiday's official name is Washington's Birthday, ThoughtCo, 27 March 2019.