Presidents' Day: A Day to be Thankful

What is the true spirit of this holiday?

School kids love it because they have the whole week off as part of a midwinter recess.

Car dealers and large retailers love it, too. They can use the whole week to blast their sales messages under the banner of red, white and blue including images of Washington and Lincoln. 

Originally, the holiday was intended to honor our first President George Washington who was born on February 22.  However, later on it was felt that Abe Lincoln should have his birthday, February 12, celebrated as well. 

In 1971, Congress designated the third Monday of February as a federal holiday; however, several states continued to honor the two presidents on their respective birthdays. 

Today, it seems as if the term Presidents Day has stuck. And so we have the option to celebrate this day to commemorate the lives of all 44 of our leaders!

I believe the essence of this day is that we live in a stable democracy--a system of government whose leadership is fixed for at least four years. 

We are living in a world which has seen such leadership turmoil. 

First came the Arab Spring uprisings bringing down the governments of Khadafi and Mubarak, which will hopefully bring stable democratic governments to Libya and Egypt.

However, we hear of  the daily violence and bloodshed under the Assad government in Syria in a internal war that seen over 5,000 Syrians killed. 

We Americans have a duty to show our appreciation to our country and its peaceful system of government under the leadership of our President. 

God Bless America on this Presidents' Day and everyday!  

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