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Post details: Presidents' Day

02/18/08

01:18:13 am, by Rossputin

, 121 words, 125 views

Categories: Political Opinion, Personal Notes •• ••

Presidents' Day

It's a day off from trading and blogging for me, in honor of our presidents, but especially Lincoln and Washington, each of whom had his own day when I was young, but who were relegated to sharing a day with other (lesser) men. (Lincoln's birthday was not a Federal holiday, just a holiday in certain states, but at least mentioned pretty much everywhere in America, unlike today.)

Wikipedia says that Presidents' Day grew due to a "push from advertisers" in the late 1980s and that it's basically a marketing gimmick. Still I can't help but wonder if the advent of Martin Luther King Day, celebrated just a month earlier, led to the lessening of respect for our two arguably greatest presidents.

Permalink 1 comment

Comments:

Comment from: The Freak [Visitor]

What, exactly, makes Lincoln great?

If a people decide to separate, don't they deserve the benefit of self-determination? A federal state that provides for entry but no exit criteria is a tyranny.

Lincoln did not really care about slavery, if that is what you might remember him for. He fought a fratricidal war to keep the Union intact, even if by force. The emancipation proclamation, which everybody erroneously believes freed the slaves, did no such thing (the thirteenth amendment did that, and later) and was not a document of a lofty nature. It freed slaves in the rebel territories and was intended to weaken the confederacy to make victory on the battlefield easier. No idealistic document, the emancipation proclamation allowed Union-friendly border states to keep their slaves.

Lincoln great? Give me a break.

Permalink 02/18/08 @ 08:18

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