Diane Rufino, February 19, 2019

HAPPY PRESIDENT’S DAY! 

Try not to think of this day as an opportunity to find a good sale, to finally get the new stove you’d been wanting for years or the new dining room set you’ve had your eyes on. I’m certainly guilty of that myself. 

Think of this day as celebrating all those strong presidents throughout our history who have had the conviction and wisdom and foresight to truly lead this country — to recognize hard times and make things better, to see problems and be able to solve them, to see our failings and faults and point them out and correct them, to see wrongs and right then, to see death and destruction and to offer assistance with compassion, to confront hard choices, unfriendly mobs, and unrelenting criticism and to instinctively make the right decision, to see division and try to mend it, to look at the Constitution and revere it, and to inspire Americans to patriotism and service and greatness.  We celebrate those presidents who were strong and principled enough to use their power and position for good and for the good of the country as a whole and not for political purposes or ambition. We celebrate those presidents who, when looking back in time, were able to carry us with confidence and courage through hard times and who left the country far better off than before he took office. We celebrate those presidents we instantly associate with the American flag, with American values, and with American greatness.

In reflecting on our great presidents, I remember what John Quincy Adams once said: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”   We thank God for these leaders.

HAPPY PRESIDENT’S DAY!  And happy shopping !!