Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Writing in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, John R. Miller, a former U.S. Ambassador, reminded readers of some history behind President’s Day:

In 1968, the public-employee unions, seeking a three-day weekend, convinced Congress to move the commemoration of Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February. This eventually led to what we now call President’s Day, which marks the birthday of not only Washington but of Lincoln and all the other presidents. By celebrating every birthday, we effectively celebrate none.

Sadly, Mr. Miller is largely right. I doubt few of us know when Millard Fillmore or Chester Arthur was born.

But should we? Does it even matter?

Speaking as a proud citizen of the United States, I think the answer to that question is an unequivocal “yes.”

It’s important to study the lives of American presidents. As a dad, I also think it’s important to teach that history to our kids, as well as the significance of the presidency itself.  The chronicles of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are rich, dramatic and important. In fact, I would encourage you to read something about each man who has served as commander-in-chief. It’s easy to discount the importance of some of them. The humor columnist Dave Barry, opining on the contributions of the aforementioned Millard Fillmore, boiled down the highlights of his administration to one:

“The earth did not crash into the sun.”

I have to admit that’s pretty funny, but of course, it’s anything but true. President Fillmore was not popularly elected, only ascending to the office in 1850 following the sudden death of Zachary Taylor. Fillmore presided over a tumultuous time in American history.  At a time when the issue of slavery was threatening to tear the country in two, President Fillmore was a strong supporter of the Compromise of 1850. He signed it into law thinking it would hold the Union together. It did the exact opposite. In retrospect, it gave something for people on both sides of the slavery debate to hate. He was not reelected.

The “President’s Club” is, indeed, an elite and important group. In fact, just over half as many men (24) have been near or walked on the moon as have been President (43).  Whatever our party or ideological leanings, every president is deserving of our respect. It is, after all, arguably the toughest job in the world.

Since the thrust of today centers on the birthdays of presidents, ever wonder if you shared a birthday with a former chief executive?  Before offering you the list of dates to examine, I wanted to explain several of the pictures attached to this blog.

On February 12th, Focus hosted a wonderful celebration in honor of President Lincoln. It was organized by a colleague of mine here at the ministry, Phil Williams. Phil is a passionate patriot who has devoted much of his free time to reminding people that many of America’s early leaders were individuals of strong Christian faith.  Over 2,000 people came out on that sunny Saturday to meet and hear “President Lincoln.” Other events included musket demonstrations, a drum and fife duo and several historical characters adorned in period dress. We’ve received numerous requests for an encore presentation!

If today is a day off for you, I hope you enjoy it with your family.  Happy President’s Day!

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, staff February 21, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura