American schoolchildren learn at least a few things about George Washington—that he fought the British to help achieve independence for the American colonies, that he was the first President of the United States, that he refused to become King.
But how many of them have learned of Washington’s views on war? He said, among other things:
“My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.”
“Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”
Foreshadowing President Dwight David Eisenhower’s familiar warning about the military industrial complex, Washington said, “Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.”
And perhaps foreshadowing the movement toward government of, by, and for the wealthiest and most powerful, Washington commented, “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.”
Washington, like all great individuals, was a complex man influenced by his historical context even while offering much great advice for a better future.
A few other messages from him to consider on Presidents Day (Monday, February 20):
- “Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
- “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
- ”Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.”
Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology