Yesterday was St. Valentine's Day, and today is Presidents' Day, a day on which we celebrate presidents. It's sort of an odd holiday. First off, people already talk about presidents a lot. They don't really need an extra day as a group. And while we can agree that a few of them are definitely worthy of celebration, you're going to get a lot of disagreement about most of the presidents. I suspect, for instance, that most people would either say that Obama or Trump was not worthy of having a holiday about him. "But Nathan," you say, "You're historically misinformed! Presidents' Day is really only about Washington and Lincoln!" To which I say, "Sure, but if so, the day is poorly named." And yes, I agree that both Washington and Lincoln are people who deserve days (though there are many people who deserve days who don't get them), but I would also point out that Washington and Lincoln are the most talked-about presidents already! So this Presidents' Day, I encourage you to spend some time thinking about lesser-known presidents. Think about Millard Fillmore, Chester Arthur, or William Henry Harrison. Remember Silent Cal Coolidge or the eminently forgettable Franklin Pierce. Or don't. I'm not your AP US History teacher.
You see, it's funny because there's a famous phrase that goes "A stitch in time saves nine." |
