Ron Chernow’s book Washington: A Life chronicles the life of George Washington from his childhood years through 8+ years of leading the Continental Army to the postwar years and his presidency. As many have noted, perhaps the greatest thing that George Washington did for the nation, something that few other great men in history have done and which enabled the establishment of the United States, was that he repeatedly stepped aside from positions of power and returned the power to the people. This was evident both when he was the General of the Continental Army and became even more apparent when he stepped aside from additional terms of being President of the United States. What Washington, and many of the founding fathers at that time, understood so well is something which we have lost sight of- democracy is neither permanent nor guaranteed.
Timothy Snyder, Yale professor and author, rightly notes that there are a not insignificant number of democracies which have transitioned from democracies to totalitarian states. These changes, typically begin and are completed within 1-3 years and without the full recognition of the masses until the transition has actually taken place. Remember, even now, that there have been, and always will be, minority groups looking to exploit world events to gain and hold power. Democracy must be something that is guarded, protected, and sacrificed for, because even greater sacrifices will be required if it is ever lost. One of the final points Snyder makes is that if “if none of us is prepared to die for freedom, then all of us will die in unfreedom.”
Happy belated Fourth of July
JR.Stanley 