The end of an era

A good series of posts by Frederick R. Smith brings a chance for comparison.

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Since we’re sliding into a short week leading into a long weekend, I think it’s worth it for readers to take the hour and a half to delve into a thorough treatise on Washington’s Farewell address by

Frederick R Smith

entitled “Washington’s Warnings Revisited.” Here’s the links to each:

Washington’s Warnings Revisited: Part 1

Washington’s Warnings Revisited: Part 2

Washington’s Warnings Revisited: Part 3

Lovingly going paragraph-by-paragraph through the words of our first President, Frederick hits the main themes and ties them to the crummy modern day, as he concludes:

The political climate in Washington is partisan, stirring old fears like his of the “baneful effects of the spirit of party.” Also, America struggles to manage its overextended international commitments from treaties and wars. Washington’s call for neutrality is a powerful reminder. It invites a rethink of the U.S. role in foreign policy: to balance interests, but through peaceful means.

If there’s an angle I would like to add, it would be that of imagining Joe Biden’s Farewell Address, presuming he can still read the teleprompter. What could he say about the subjects of Washington’s speech, particularly the idea about avoiding foreign entanglements? Given the fact that Biden just green-lighted the possibility of Ukraine using our Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to attack targets within Russia, he’s opened the possibility Russia may expand the theater of attack into other NATO nations, particularly ours. (The Russians have already enlisted the aid of North Korean troops on their side.) Talk about sandbagging your successor - a nuclear conflict would make breaking Ws off the computer keyboard look like a middle school prank.

It’s especially galling when Biden was compared to Washington for not running for a second term, a concept he had already explored when he was campaigning back in 2019. Back then he was to be the transition figure to some younger unnamed Democrat, but his incompetent VP selection thwarted those plans.

When you compare the idea of being the first president of a country and willingly giving up power when many within the new nation wanted him to be a king to dropping out of a race when it became apparent that his mental condition wouldn’t allow him to continue, our modern world is a pale pastel compared to the bold color of a George Washington. Perhaps the only one who’s come close to that sort of soaring oratory is Ronald Reagan, and Joe Biden is no Gipper.

Regardless, what Frederick has done is worth the read. Take the time to do it over the holidays and hope that the Trump agenda gives him the occasion to make similar remarks about our reborn nation four years hence.

Until next time, remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.