Presidents Day

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Here in the United States we celebrated Presidents Day yesterday, February 21. Since 1971 it is always the 3rd Monday in February and it is the day we officially celebrate the birthdays of
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two of our most popular and influential presidents.
As I watch the world news I see unrest in many countries, including angry protests in part of the United States.  In each protest, the country's leader has reacted differently. The way each leader reacts to angry citizens affects the outcome of the protest.  Some leaders have known that their leadership is too weak to withstand any criticism. Some have given in to a few of the protesters demands while attempting to negotiate others. In Libya, China and Iran the governments have so little confidence that they have ordered their citizens to be killed.
I believe that the strength of a country is displayed in how much criticism it can withstand and still function with the loyalty of its citizens.
The government leaders of the United States have made many many errors that have adversely affected people all over the world. Our presidents have mislead the people who they have been elected to serve. American presidents and government leaders have often acted without the best interest of American citizens or in the interest of people throughout the world. They have been sneaky, lying and greedy.
They have also been great, honorable and self-sacrificing for the good of Americans and people the world's residents.
As Americans, we criticize our leaders continually but without losing our loyalty to our country. Our government is stronger than any one personality, whether that person is honorable or evil. The United States probably won't last forever but it won't go down because it has a bad system.  It will go down due to wars or economic issues or combined natural disasters.
On Presidents Day I think we should honor, not just a couple of our presidents, but the idea of presidents, mere humans who are elected by people who don't always get it right, people who often don't pay attention, people who are both honorable and dishonorable.
Some of our citizens are protesting in the state of Wisconsin because they have lost some of their rights. They scream and shout and if they are not heard, they will elect different people to lead them. Our leaders are whom we choose, the people we allow to lead us.
I am proud of our system and I'm proud of the faulty folks who have taken on the job of leadership. We must also be proud of those people in the Middle East, Northern Africa, Asia, Latin America and all over the world who stand up to leaders who fail to lead.
For my many readers who are not residents of the United States, forgive me for taking a moment to write about my pride in my country with its many, many faults, but today is Presidents Day. I would like to honor those people who have been President.

1. George Washington
2. John Adams
3. Thomas Jefferson
4. James Madison
5. James Monroe
6. John Quincy Adams
7. Andrew Jackson
8. Martin Van Buren
9. William Henry Harrison
10. John Tyler
11. James Polk
12. Zachary Taylor
13. Millard Fillmore
14. Franklin Pierce
15. James Buchanan
16. Abraham Lincoln
17. Andrew Johnson
18. Ulysses S. Grant
19. Rutherford B. Hayes
20. James Garfield
21. Chester A. Arthur
22. Grover Cleveland
23. Benjamin Harrison
24. Grover Cleveland
25. William McKinley
26. Theodore Roosevelt
27. William Howard Taft
28. Woodrow Wilson
29. Warren G Harding
30. Calvin Coolidge
31. Herbert Hoover
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt
33. Harry S. Truman
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower
35. John F. Kennedy
36. Lyndon B Johnson
37. Richard M Nixon
38. Gerald R. Ford
39. James Earl Carter
40. Ronald Reagan
41. George HW Bush
42. William J. Clinton
43. George W. Bush
44. Barack OBama

Our flag flies whether skies are calm or stormy and will continue to do so as long as we protect our system and insist that our leaders serve us with honor.