Today, I’m celebrating President’s Day by recalling past presidents’ wise words that still speak to us.
Later this spring, I would like to return to Washington, D. C. to visit the Jefferson Memorial now that its refurbishing work is complete. I climbed the Washington Monument as a 13-year-old. No additional visits can top that experience, so I’ll drive by and snap a photo.
Additionally, the Lincoln Memorial is in a class all by itself. President Lincoln’s words etched on the walls spontaneously call visitors to silence as they read them.
Is it President’s Day with one apostrophe, or Presidents’ Day indicating more than one president? It depends on where you live. Initially, this day celebrated our first President, George Washington. Since Abraham Lincoln was born in February, some states have included him. Other states salute all of our presidents on this day. Some states don’t celebrate this day as a holiday at all.
Even now, it’s a good idea to consider the wise sayings of some of our great leaders:
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
—Abraham Lincoln
“If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
—George Washington
“Experience hath shown, that even under the best forms of government, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”
—Thomas Jefferson
Do you have a favorite saying from any of our presidents?
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
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