Honoring The Office Of The President Of The United States

Today we honor the men who have held the highest office of our country in the form of a special holiday called President’s Day.  To this date we have had 44 different men fulfilling the duties of this calling.  Four of our presidents were assassinated while in office, thirteen had assassination attempts on their lives and two who died of sickness while serving our country have had rumors of assassination as the real reason for their deaths.

Two of my favorite presidents were Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.  I recently read a book on the Civil War that summarized the events that occurred each year throughout the war.  I was truly amazed to understand the personal involvement that Lincoln had in directing the various campaigns of the Union Army.  The strength, character, and devotion of this man to the cause of the saving of our nation was beyond credibility! It would be interesting to read the history books today had he lived through the reconstruction period after the war.

While some may question my choice of Ronald Regan as another favorite president, I strongly believe that this man also had a similar passion for the good of our country as did President Lincoln. Reagan described himself as an undying optimist, especially in regard to America’s future.  I am a personal witness to how his actions in the early years of his first term fostered a rebuilding of the morale and confidence in our country following the Vietnam War years and the failed rescue attempt during the Iran Hostage Crises that ended after 444 days in January of 1981. In the introduction to his book “God and Ronald Reagan”, political historian Paul Kengor stated that “Ronald Regan is hailed today for a presidency that restored optimism to America, engendered years of economic prosperity, and helped bring about the fall of the Soviet Union.” (God and Ronald Reagan. Copyright  © 2004 by Paul Kengor)

Whoever your favorite President may be, it is important that we honor these men who  relentlessly served and strived to do their best for the protection, growth, prosperity and moral fiber of our citizens.  These men’s successes or failures should not measure our respect for the office of the President of the United States. Whether we agree with their personal beliefs or policies or not, we should still highly respect this office and its place in the government of our country.  I salute the men who have held this office and thank God that we live in a country where we have the freedom to vote and participate in a democratic society.  Join with me today in honoring our Presidents while envisioning Kate Smith singing “God Bless America, land that I love…”  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting… today?”