CommentsThe Doctor is IN: As the physical, mental, economic, and certainly emotional health of each and every one of you reading this goes down, welcome to a Presidents' Day that draws us to the question of what happened to the man in the White House being a leader we can look up to.
(And don't you worry, because they'll be a woman there sooner or later, and the question might very well still persist.)
Perhaps you're in such an elite position that you're doing just FINE right now, and if such is the case then I recommend you move on to another article.
Perhaps you're in a "zen" state of mind that has kept you safe in either bliss, ignorance, and calmness during these trying times. I envy you. Read on or move on, then, but you're probably doing the right thing, and something we should all try to emulate as best we can.
It should be remembered that Presidents' Day is NOT "President's Day". It's not President Joe Biden's Day...it's OUR day, just as it's been OUR day since it was begun unofficially as a celebration of George Washington's birthday (February 22nd). In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes declared Presidents' Day a federal holiday.
So it's a time for all Presidents, past and present, and those of alive who voted for them, to reflect on our past, recent, and current Presidents.
So many of us HATE our current, or former, President...or maybe the one before that, or the one before that.
Republican Presidents and candidates? Aloof...although in his own strange if not alarming way former President Donald Trump (who many all over the political aisle do not recognize as "Republican) tried to reach out to the grassroots American people.
Democratic Presidents and candidates? Pandering...although in his own magnificent way President John F. Kennedy (who many all over the political aisle would declare him to be a moderate Republican by today's standards) tried to call forth the best of all Americans, instead of demanding a freebie or giveaway.
President George Washington? A great man, perhaps the greatest of all Presidents. He insisted on NOT being a King (despite many among the colonists-turned-citizens of the incipient United States who would have loved for him to be their King), and both stepped down after eight years (his Farewell Address) and warned about political parties.
And then two other great men, Founding Fathers both, President John Adams and President Thomas Jefferson, and arguably the two greatest and passionate political rivals in our nation's history, created two political parties that morphed over the years. Thereafter, our nation has, by and large, been divided ever since.
(Of course, aren't the causes of rich and poor, privileged and nonprivileged, educated and uneducated, liberal and conservative, and imperialist and anti-imperialist, worthy of some ongoing and never ending debate?)
And then President Abraham Lincoln created a mantle of a New Republican Party that has become a Grand Old Party, and lost all for his efforts to save the Union. Contrary to what most remember him by, he was (for the most part) one of the most hated men in America during his tenure as President.
And then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President, had an array of social programs to help jumpstart the Depression-smashed economy--most of which failed--but then got us through World War II. Yet after his multi-termed administration, the 22nd Amendment was passed to preserve the George Washington model of two terms in office to avoid ever having a King in our nation.
And then Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush commanded high popularities (and for a few, record-levels of hatred during their terms) as we fought the Cold War.
President Clinton unified the nation with a good economy and centrist approach to government, despite his personal issues, and President G.W. Bush then united a post-9/11 nation only to see himself fall from being one of the most popular Presidents ever into a position of being one of the most hated Presidents of all because of his economic and foreign political blunders.
And we've been divided ever since. Obama and Trump? Too much golf and not enough transparency and one-on-one discussions with the American people. Not enough fireside chats, not enough townhalls, and certainly not enough humility.
And let's not even get started with our current resident in the White House. President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris as qualified, uniting our oh-so-divided nation, connected to the ordinary Joe/Jane American, transparent, and fighting for the best interests of our nation?
Please.
We've every right to hate them, particularly those who were supposed to LEAD our nation during the 21st Century.
And maybe, just maybe, we can hope to find someone in 2024...or maybe 2028...or maybe 2032 (!) who can again unite our nation to become a true leader, and a true President, for a truly United States to thrive once again.
(Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 9, years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach, Planning, and Transportation/Infrastructure Committees for 10 years. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition His latest project is his fictional online book entitled The Unforgotten Tales of Middle-Earth and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
