Today is Presidents Day. It shouldn’t be.

It’s yet another example of Washington politicians screwing around with important, organic commemorations that celebrate key national figures in our country’s history for superficial contemporary priorities.

Most recently, in 1968 a Democrat Senate, a Democrat House, and a Democrat president eliminated the national celebration of George Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22. The first president was dead, so he couldn’t object.  

Pretty much everyone knows by now that Democrats think they can declare people’s genders simply by recognizing them with signs and executive orders. As he has with many silly things already, President Trump officially eliminated any confusion by officially declaring our government now recognizes only the two biological sexes, male and female.

I’ve grown increasingly suspicious over the years that this persistent federal holiday re-engineering by Democrats was the precursor of DEI. They seem to believe government can order or do anything according to their transient social-engineering bucket lists.

You know, that nothing American is exceptional; it simply can’t be, you understand. That no one is special above others, not even if they work extra for it. Just by being alive, we’re all contributing equally, and equally mediocre is good enough. Anyone who's ever held a real job knows not all work equally hard.

The Declaration of Independence declares everyone is born equal and that everyone has certain inalienable rights, including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Everyone can chase their own happiness. Go for it! But you get no guaranteed outcomes, not even plastic trophies from China just for showing up.

Our government even got away with changing the birth dates of historical figures, which tarnishes the long-lived tradition of celebrating heroes. It dumps everyone into an amorphous blah.

Without George Washington there would be no United States. He was the key element in a magical alignment of people, events, places, and history that spawned an exceptional, enduring experiment in self-governance that will mark its own 250th birthday next year.

Washington had no children, but he became the father of a new country. He organized, held together, inspired, and commanded a ragtag army in the Revolutionary War to defeat the world’s most powerful military. 

And then to get things started right, he reluctantly served two terms by acclamation as the first commander in chief, setting important norms and standards for that office. No. 1 also wisely kept the new country out of foreign entanglements.

News Flash! George Washington was not born today, on Feb. 17. No president was. He was born on Feb. 22, 1732, in Virginia just in time for his historical calling. He reportedly paid little attention to his birthday. No bouncy tent, no clowns and balloon tricks.

But in 1789, a grateful new nation began celebrating Feb. 22 as a government holiday in Washington, along with July 4^th. In 1879, that became the official national holiday.

After that date millions of schoolchildren, including me, from scores of generations, including mine, got the day off after class projects learning about his life, accomplishments, crossing the Delaware River, favorite food (bread in warm milk), powdered white wigs, and inability to tell a lie.

If Feb. 22 came on a weekend, tough luck for no classes, but we still did the learning beforehand. And reminded our parents of the important day at dinner that evening.

The same was true for No. 16, Abraham Lincoln, who was born on Feb. 12, 1809, the first president born outside the 13 original colonies (Ky).

Lincoln had little school learning growing up in Indiana and Illinois. But he had an abundance of common sense, worked hard on the home farm, was self-educated, and walked many country miles to return a library book. Only recently did I learn he was an accomplished amateur wrestler in the militia and at county fairs.

I remember one crayoned diorama in seventh grade about his life that covered three whole blackboards, which were actually black in those days. 

We did not learn much about the president’s four sons. I suspect because three of them died as children. That and the Civil War would explain their father’s sad face shortly before his murder in 1865 (on the right above).

I remember reading out loud with classmates the 272 words of the Gettysburg Address (I had to look up what "four score" was) and thinking there must have been more to the speech for something so famous.

As someone who’s written many speeches, mainly for others, I shall forever marvel at the eloquence and economy of the words Lincoln himself wrote.

For many decades then, we separately honored the two greatest presidents -- the one who made the country and the one who kept it a country.

That all seemed appropriate and provided regular reasons like the Pledge of Allegiance each morning to think about things beyond the school room that were important as citizens.

But that all ended in 1968. 

That’s when Congress turned the third Monday in February into Presidents Day. 

Who cares about actual history if you can wrangle another three-day weekend by ignoring it.

The invention of "Presidents Day" from whole cloth has sapped most of the meaning from its observance. Smartly, a few states, mainly Midwestern, still mark Feb. 12.

Now, more than ever, Americans bitterly divided over passing modern issues could use genuine and enduring historic role models to share beliefs in and unite around, beyond just mega-rich pro athletes or celebrities who change spouses like jewelry.

Plus, let’s be honest. In the real world, every player does not deserve a trophy and every president does not deserve a holiday. Some U.S. presidents were good, others adequate. And some were real turkeys. 

So, the historic days and teaching tools marking our two greatest leaders in 249 years were perversely turned into a time for stores to combat dreary winter sales by providing incredible deals on mattresses and pillows.

That’s not worth a holiday either.

Memorial Day originally was called Decoration Day. That’s because even before the Civil War ended, beginning in the South and moving North, mothers on both sides began decorating the graves of the fallen from both sides. President Lincoln proclaimed that annual honor as May 30, which would be a Friday this year.

Once again, in 1968 the urge to change the news from the Vietnam War infected Congress. Members noticed we’ve had numerous wars since the 1860s. So, Decoration Day was changed to Memorial Day to honor all the fallen. That’s fine.

But in reality, that was simply cover for changing the date to the last Monday in May because -- you guessed it -- three-day weekend. This year a May 30th Memorial Day would fall on a Friday; instead, it’s Monday the 26th.

It would be hard to change the date of Armistice Day. That was when World War I ended at precisely 11 a.m. on Nov. 11th in 1918. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. 

It wasn’t. 

An estimated nine million troops died in that conflict, seven million civilians, and eight million horses, mules, and donkeys. The biggest killer was artillery fire, second was poison gas; 2,738 men made it through the war only to die during the last morning’s unnecessary bombardments.

Britain’s Imperial War Museum has constructed a haunting sound-ranging audio recording of the last minute of fighting from the American front on the Moselle River, using primitive battlefield microphones deployed to trace artillery fire.

Since it was not the last war, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans’ Day.

Thanksgiving is another holiday government officials have tinkered with. The Pilgrims had the first Thanksgiving the fall of 1621, sometime between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9. Three days of eating and drinking, so exact memories after were a little foggy.

President Lincoln set Thanksgiving Day nationally as the last Thursday in November, which is where it stood for decades. 

Then in 1931, another Democrat, President Franklin Roosevelt, changed it to the third Thursday. He felt the need to lengthen the holiday-shopping season.

Eight years later, Congress restored the holiday to Lincoln’s choice.

So far, July 4^th has remained, properly, as the sacred immovable holiday. But watch out! Next year it arrives on a Saturday.