George Who? What Happened to Washington’s Birthday?
February 18th, 2011 Floyd and Mary Beth Brown, FloydReports.com“If we do this [change the date of the Washington holiday celebration], ten years from now our school children will not know what February 22 means. They will not know or care when George Washington was born. They will know that in the middle of February they will have a three-day weekend for some reason. This will come.” These prophetic words, passionately argued by Tennessee Congressman Dan Kuykendall more than 40 years ago, have come true. Ask most school kids today why February 22nd is special, and they will probably give you a blank stare.
The passage of the Uniform Monday Federal Holiday Law in 1968 triggered an avalanche that would bury “the father of our country,” along with his guiding virtues and reminders of how and why the U.S. was born.
Washington inspired his contemporaries and countless American s since, motivating others to emulate him. Washington set the gold standard for presidents and private character. “His example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting,” wrote John Marshall in Washington’s official eulogy. “The purity of his private character gave effulgence to his public virtues.”
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