I guess ole “George W.” was right all along…it’s just too bad it took us this long to figure it out…

Sitting here on the eve of the 2008 Presidential Election, I can’t help but cringe at the perilous crossroads at which we stand. From the sound of the commercials airing between our favorite sitcoms and sporting events, it’s as if our very survival as a nation depended upon our turning right, turning left, or moving straight ahead. No matter which course we choose tomorrow, several truths are evident, even to me: a husband, a father, a teacher, a concerned citizen, and a proud and patriotic American.

I’m no politician. I’m not a stump speaker. Nor am I an expert on the very difficult and precarious issues facing this great nation today. But I am an American, and I’m upset over the current state of things in this land that I love.

I’m angry. We’re all angry about something. No matter which side of the aisle you choose to sit, stand, cheer, or perhaps kneel on, chances are, you’re mad about something.

Yet unlike most, I’m not mad at one man. No sir. I won’t dare lay the baggage of the current ills plaguing our country on the doorstep of President Bush. Only simple-minded and irrational people who know very little about how our nation functions would limit such criticisms to one man, to one office, and even to one party. Just as Senator Obama has proposed with his economic plans, there is plenty of blame to “spread around.”

The problem in America today is not “the Bush Administration.” It is not “bad intelligence” or “failed economic policy.” The problem, my fellow citizens, is us.

In many ways, we’ve given up. Long gone are the days of true politics in America, propped up by a core set of values and beliefs that made us “The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.” Today, our society mirrors our modern political system, which is nothing more than a series of hate crimes carried out by one American against another (cue the somber music and sobering voice warning us of what will befall our society and our interests should the other guy win).

You see, the most dangerous letters in America are no longer T, A, X, E, and S. They aren’t “CIA,” “ATF,” “GITMO,” “FDA,” “WMD,” and despite what you’ve heard the past several weeks, they aren’t even “NYSE,” “FDIC,” “MAE,” or “MAC.”

The most dangerous of all letters in the American political landscape today are, sadly, “R,” “D,” “U,” and “S.”

Our problems are not Republican (R) problems. They are not Democrat (D) problems. They are American problems, belonging to each and every one of “us.”

Our first president, George Washington, had it right. In the context of his Farewell Address (which coincidentally, was never actually delivered as a speech, only reprinted in various newspapers), Washington warned the young nation of the paralysis that could inflict a country divided by two powerful and opposing political parties:

“This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.” (George Washington, 1796)

The Office of the President was crafted by the framers around the image (and legend) of George Washington. It was built for him, to serve all of us. He was the model, the mold, and the prototype. He was to be the standard-bearer for all who followed to emulate. He was not self-seeking, nor was he self-serving. He believed in his country (and his fellow countrymen) above all else…especially the will of a political party.

And still, tomorrow as we head to the polls to elect his 43rd successor, we seem to be even more confused and divided on what we’re looking for in our leaders. That should tell us a great deal about where things stand.

Washington didn’t seek a mass following or popularity as far as the eye could see. To him, it was about so much more than what he could do. He always put the country first, even when that meant stepping into harm’s way, and ultimately, stepping aside. You need to ask yourself which candidate best fits the mold and standard left by our original Executive?

You see, ole George W. did have it right…yet, it took over 200 years (and 43 Presidents) for us to realize that we’ve just chosen to ignore his warning.

This didn’t happen overnight.

…and things won’t be fixed tonight…or tomorrow for that matter…no matter which team you’re pulling for.

"The Original George W."