What's On Our Mind 2-18-2022

 

We have had 46 presidents since the birth of our nation. These men have each had a tremendous impact on America in a variety of ways.

 

George Washington unified a new nation. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Theodore Roosevelt built the Panama Canal. Woodrow Wilson drafted the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI. Harry Truman made the fateful decision to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Lyndon B. Johnson enacted sweeping anti-poverty programs and civil rights laws. Barack Obama gave millions of Americans access to health insurance.

 

On Presidents' Day, we honor our nation’s highest leaders and their achievements. Their tenure in the Oval Office was sometimes marked by conflict and controversy, but the office of the Presidency has always been a symbol of our democracy.

 

Donald Trump left the White House having tattered the reputation of the Presidency. There is still a cloud hanging over our nation as Congress works to unravel his ethical violations and the insurrection of the Capitol that clearly points back to him.

 

No President is above oversight. The President is in the Oval Office because of the will of the people — to whom he owes his allegiance and loyalty. The goal of the House Committee charged with investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol is to hold Trump accountable. In their pursuit of justice, they will show the country that our democracy does not belong to one President to use for his own personal gain.

 

President Joe Biden pledged to restore the soul of America, yet he is also striving to restore the public's faith in government.

 

The office of the President is just as important as the individual who occupies it. Each President owes it to our country to hold that office with the dignity, respect, and honor our founding leaders intended it to represent. In doing so, we can ensure that on Presidents’ Day we can truly celebrate the men — and one day soon women — that make this country great.