Happy Presidents Day. And yet, what are celebrating? The holiday was originally to commemorate the birthday of George Washington, a man who certainly deserves such an honor. Then what we might call semantic inflation clicked in: What started as a specific day of the year with a specific meaning acquired other meanings, getting more and more vague. Then the day was stretched to honor also another great American president with a birthday in February, Abraham Lincoln. Then, as observing the day of the month was changed so that the holiday would always fall on a Monday so that federal employees could get a three-day weekend, the holiday began to honor ALL presidents.
If we are going to have a Presidents Day, don’t we also need a Congress Day and a Supreme Court Day? To emphasize one branch of the government over the others is not Constitutional, is it? Why don’t we drop the February holiday and honor the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. That day has already been named Constitution Day. Let’s make that the federal holiday.
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