In each edition of The Washington Post there is a section titled “Happening Today” that lists some important meetings and events, usually in the government – the President’s schedule, meetings, economic report roll outs, etc. On February 26 one announcement caught my eye: “3 p.m. The Senate gathers for the annual reading of George Washington’s 1796 Farewell Address to be delivered by Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)”
According to the Senate Historical Office, the annual reading
of the address by a current member is “one of the Senate’s most enduring
traditions.” The first reading in 1862 was held as a means to boost morale
during the Civil War. It was established as a yearly event in 1896, the
centennial of its first publication.
It occurs to me that
the rationale for its first Senate reading –morale boosting– is particularly appropriate today
with a country polarized by divisive disputes and led by a president lacking in
basic leadership qualities, not the least of which is integrity, as so calmly
exemplified by our first president.
The almost 7000 word “address” was not intended to be
delivered in person but rather as a letter. Assisting in its preparation were James
Madison and thereafter Alexander Hamilton. It was first published in a journal called the
American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796 in Philadelphia, then our
nation’s capital. Washington’s purpose was to give advice to the young country
for its future.
He first cleared a
path by announcing he would not seek a third term as president in the upcoming
election, just weeks away. He then went on to plead for national unity, well
aware of the growth of political parties (then Federalists and Republicans) and
the growing divisions in the nation.
The U.S. Senate website summarizes the address as
follows: “Washington warned that the
forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference
by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of
the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common
national interests.” Doesn’t that summary
resonate with our current situation? For instance, wasn’t the Russian attempt
in 2016 to disrupt our presidential election tantamount to an effort to destabilize
the Republic?
I daresay George Washington would be dismayed by the state
of the nation today, and how his prescient warnings and advice are being
ignored. He also wrote:” It is
substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular
government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species
of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with
indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric.” Even the most casual of observers can see
that our current president, through his own immoral character and actions, is
shaking that foundation. The indifference of many politicians only adds to the
downward slide.
Washington’s address springs from his own integrity; Trump’s
words and deeds issue from the lack thereof. There are many synonyms for integrity, such as
honesty, rectitude, a character based on
high moral and ethical principles. The
word is based on the Latin integer –
meaning whole or complete. A leader with
integrity has to lead from within- from who he or she is completely.
This applies to our leaders in the nonprofit sector every
bit as much as it applies to government officials. We must not lose sight of
the leadership standard of integrity, even as examples of the opposite flare up
around us every day. I don’t know how many U.S. senators heard or took to heart
the words of Washington’s Farewell Address recited in the chamber a few weeks
ago. I hope some did. They, and others in position of authority in all sectors
of our society, have got to pay attention.
Comments on this post
and any others found in the Archive to the left are always welcome at:
gplatt63@gmail.com
