A President’s Day Message from Bergen County Executive Kathleen
by Bergen County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan
I want to take a moment to wish you a happy President’s Day and to offer you some of my thoughts on why I believe this is a day that deserves to be commemorated by more than car sales and shopping discounts.
Only 44 people in nearly 240 year-old history of the United States have earned the right to be called President.
Among the 44 men who have scaled the highest achievement in American politics a few stand out: They include Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan
While these and other great leaders deserve to be remembered for their role in advancing America, two Presidents in my mind stand out above the others and both happen to be born in February.
George Washington, born February 22, 1732, shaped the newly formed nation and laid out the framework for the office of President of the United States. He gave substance and meaning to a position that never existed until he took the oath of office on April 30, 1789.
For eight years he piloted the America ship through uncharted waters as the world looked on — doubtful that this new experiment in democracy and self-determination would survive. It not only survived, it flourished. And after 8 years Washington relinquished his grip on power – voluntarily, and handed off the reins of leadership to his elected successor.
One of those successors was the inestimable Abraham Lincoln. A common back-woodsman born February 12, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky, Lincoln ascended to the presidency against the backdrop of a bitter national fight over slavery and state’s rights. Over the course of four of the most troubled years in our nation’s history, Lincoln miraculously steered the nation on a course that would save the union and shepherd America to its most crowning achievement – the end of slavery. The democratic republic survived and a more powerful nation rose from the ashes of civil war.
Besides a remembrance of great leaders, President’s Day is a celebration of something unique in the world – the peaceful transition of power. America has enjoyed a line of 44 democratically elected chief executives for nearly 240 years.
In a world where national leaders are often toppled by revolution and bloody coups, American democracy has remained a constant steadying force – allowing our nation to prosper and be a beacon for other countries
So while you are enjoying your holiday, take a moment to be proud that you live in a nation that has produced some of the greatest leaders the world has known.
God Bless you, your family and our great country-the greatest country on the face of the earth.
Kathleen A. Donovan
