We all get to be a stick in the mud some
of the time, a curmudgeon for the right season. For a lot of us complaining about niche civic
issues comes with a strange pride all its own. So try not roll your eyes as I
present mine. President’s Day is un-American. It dilutes a full strength
celebration of greatness by adding a pitcher of water in the form of mediocre
leaders.
Some places still celebrate Washington’s
birthday but most (like Oklahoma) call it President’s Day. Others (like Illinois)
still celebrate Lincoln’s birthday as well as Washington but Abe doesn’t get a
federal holiday.
It’s become the ‘trophy holiday’ for US presidents, everyone gets one. They don’t get their own of course, they have to share.
Imagine doing this with the Oscars. Can you see Gary Oldman or Margot Robbie
offering to share a best actor award with the field? Not all heads of state are
created equal and a holiday that lumps them in together (wheat and chaff) is a disservice
to a truly great man, George Washington.
Most states (before 1971) celebrated our
first president’s birthday and if it happened to fall on a weekend, too bad, see
you at work on Monday. The desire to have long weekends led lawmakers to shift
it to a Monday and start calling it President’s Day. This happened a little
over time. Shifting dates, blending leaders. So it’s now a mish mash of people
and meanings all amounting to a free day from school and not much else.
Importance gets swept aside when we shoehorn
critical holidays into convenient shopping and travel days. We have the Monday Holiday Law of 1968 to blame. I’d prefer celebrating Martin Luther
King Jr. on his birthday and not the 3rd Monday in January, but at
least he isn’t sharing it with anyone yet. Neither sharing a day with anyone is
Casimir Polaski, whom Illinois honors on the 3rd Monday of March
(again with the Mondays!). To be fair I had to look him up every year, I still
don’t know. I’m sure whatever he did it was great though! That's kind of the point. He's another Monday guy.
“Off school this week?”
“Yeah it’s a holiday on Monday so you can
sleep in”
“Perfect. Which holiday anyway?”
“Oh I can’t remember, some leader I guess”
"Some leader that did some thing years
ago, old guy, probably dead by now"
I guess it’s my soapbox thing, we all need
one. Clearly the issue is further down on just about everyone’s list of ‘stuff
to change in 2019’. I think a lot of
people are genuinely confused that this is bugaboo for anyone, ever.
“Really? This is your big crusade? Against
having Monday holidays?”
Well no, not for all of them. Labor Day
makes perfect sense to hold on a Monday; it’s a day to celebrate workers by uh…well,
not working I guess. It doesn’t matter though because it doesn’t represent some
accomplishment or big idea that transformed life. It used to be big in the
Soviet Union with…let’s call them ‘class struggle’ types. Thankfully that one
lost some of its meaning.
Why stop at presidents of the United
States? Why not include presidents of any civic organization or club, you know
for inclusiveness. But then again, why draw the lines around American only
groups? How many presidents (or whatever the country leader is called) exist
around the world? They should count as well. How about the ones that didn’t get
elected but tried really hard? Doesn’t seem to fair to leave them out. Has
anyone ever wanted to be a president? We are celebrating you too.
Partly why I’m for tradition in holidays
is that they were created for a specific meaning to honor a specific person, or
idea. Any change in structure weakens the foundation that holds up the
important day. Holidays are exclusionary. If they weren’t what would be the
point? The ones who matter get the respect.
So George this free day is for you. You
aren’t sharing it with Tyler, or Pierce, Arthur or Van Buren.
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