Thread: George Washington

In these politically correct times, George Washington isn't the hero he once was.

Children don't read about him in school as much as their parents did. They're much more likely to learn about African-American, Native American or female heroes.

New Jersey, in fact, issued new history standards a few years ago that omitted any mention of Washington.

Even when children do learn about him, it's in an article in a boring textbook or a static image in a painting. There are no radio, TV or video clips that would make him come alive.

Washington's stature has diminished so much that a recent Washington College Poll found that Americans had a higher respect for Bill Clinton's job performance as president than they did for George Washington's.

As we once again celebrate our nation's birthday, it's time to rediscover Washington, the role model.

From his earliest childhood, through his youth, military career, political career and retirement, Washington was a model of Christian virtues -- strength and humility, servanthood and leadership, principles and forgiveness.

A man of character.

"First in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes of private life," Maj. Gen. Henry Lee said at Washington's funeral. "Pious, just, humane, temperate and sincere; uniform, dignified and commanding, his example was edifying to all around him, as were the effects of that example lasting." How many recent statesmen have been widely described with words like these? The geniuses of Washington's age, people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, looked to him for leadership. Jefferson said that Washington's mind wasn't of the very first order, but "his integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known... He was a good, and a great, man." As Washington's army suffered defeat after humiliating defeat on the road to Yorktown, he refused to give up and inspired others to do the same. When all seemed lost in the cold and deprivation of Valley Forge, his example galvanized his beleaguered army.

When the war was over, Washington merely desired to be left alone on his Virginia farm. But a group of officers, disenchanted with Congress for its failure to pay the army, wanted him to become king. He refused.

Washington said he had "no lust" for power. After serving one term as president, he reluctantly agreed to serve a second. And he declined to serve a third, establishing a precedent that -- with the exception of Franklin Roosevelt -- has survived until this day.

When his country needed him, Washington was ready to serve. The year before he died in 1799 at the age of 67, war with France appeared likely, and Washington agreed to return to public life, in command of the army, if needed.

When King George III of England heard that Washington had willingly relinquished power after the Revolutionary War, he said, "If true, then he is the greatest man in the world." One of Washington's criticisms of King George was that he could neither forget nor forgive; Washington forgave people who hurt him during the war. The list includes childhood friend Bryan Fairfax and the Rev. Jacob Duche, who both rejected the Patriot cause, and the Rev. Jonathan Boucher, who attacked his character.

Washington was not a saint; he owned slaves, for example. And he had to learn to keep deep passions under control and master a quick temper.
But by and large, he was a man who said what he did and did what he said, and he was justifiably beloved for it.

After Washington died, the Duke of Wellington, an enemy, said Washington had "the purest and noblest character of modern time -- possibly of all time." Washington's selfless virtues do not play well in our look-at-me age. The heroes of the American Revolution are being relegated to the margins of high school history courses, and we must make sure that Washington is not the next to hit history's trash bin.

His virtues are greatly needed today, as well as tomorrow, for they never go out of style.

Peter A. Lillback is president of Westminster Seminary.

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060702 ... -6726r.htm

and believe me if Cousin George was here today, he would start mass deportations of all illegal aliens in this country, revoke the phony, so-called "U.S. citizenship" of illegal-alien anchor babies and deport them along with their illegal-alien families and bar these criminals permanently from this country and build a WALL all along the border with military stationed all along the border and the wall with SHOOT-TO-KILL orders and would enforce it.

Cousin George was NO wimp like what you have in Washington DC today and in the white house. The traitors running and ruining this country need to be tried for HIGH TREASON and punished severely. Then you get some good people in office who have SOME morals, at least, and some GUTS, and who would LISTEN to the American people who pay the taxes which pay their salaries.

Good ol' Cousin George. I and Cousin George as well, are also related to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, a true southern gentleman. A real gentleman like Cousin George.

FG - Then you are also related to another true American hero & gentleman, fellow Virginian, Light Horse Harry Lee.

I discovered this by researching my family tree with my cousin Steve back a few years ago. We were both shocked to discover that we were related to George Washington who is also related to Robert E. Lee. Cousin George and Cousin Robert E. Lee are descended from Mary Townley and I and my family are descended from her sister Elizabeth Townley. They were daughters of Lawrence Townley.

We always thought our family was a bunch of poor dirt farmers. When we researched our family tree, we discovered that our family was well-known and could be researched in the encyclopedia or the history books. I am also a direct descendant of the 1st Alabama territorial and state Governor William Wyatt Bibb, who was also a doctor in Georgia and a member of both houses of Congress representing the state of Georgia.

Bibb County in Alabama and in Georgia were both named after my great-granmother's great-grandfather, Alabama Governor William Wyatt Bibb. After he fell off a horse and died, his brother Thomas Bibb, my 5X-great-uncle, finished out his term.

Also an Alabama Governor in the 1920's and the 1930's, Governor Bibb Graves was apparently the 1st cousin of my great-grandmother and his wife was another Bibb cousin of both him and us and she became a U.S. Senator.

My great-grandmother's name was Lucy Bibb, born in Osceola, Arkansas and she married a widower, a much older man named Samuel Edmon(d)ston and they had a bunch of kids. One of their kids was my grandmother, Zella Lee Edmon(d)ston who married Lawrence Jerome Brown, I, Sr and they had my dad who was Jr. My brother is III.

Small world, eh?