First Word

A quick Google search indicates that different organizations claim today’s holiday as (a) Washington’s birthday (in which case, “President’s Day”), or plural “Presidents’ Day,” with either the interpretation of (b) “Washington and Lincoln,” or (c) “all presidents.” Apparently, at the Federal level, it is technically still (a), though Nixon issued a proclamation making it (b); but the public, no doubt following advertisers’ lead, mostly believes the reference to be (c).

This kind of ambiguity is typical of our modern age. Nothing ever settled, nothing ratified, as the Patton character in Patton says.

The most common interpretation (c) is particularly absurd. As if every politician should be honored, however crooked he might be, merely for winning an election.

If everyone wins, no one wins; if everyone is set apart for an honor, no one is set apart for that honor.

Honoring every winner is really to flatter the voters more than to honor the winner. Their infinite wisdom is such that they must always choose the best man, or at least a man worthy of honor, regardless of who wins: the Voice of the People has spoken, and all of us voters should feel proud, even if we foolishly voted for the guy that lost. We too should “mischen unsren Jubel ein!”

It should be called Vox Populi Day.

Although, the foolishness can be set in even sharper relief: we are really being asked to honor him who has been declared the winner of an election, i.e. regardless of who actually was voted for the greatest number of times. “I don’t care who votes, I only care who counts the votes,” Stalin is supposed to have said.

In the event, perhaps it should be renamed, “Honoring the Vote-Counters’ Day.”