From George Washington to Barrack Obama, we tend to idealize our president. We put them on a pedestal, raise them above the rest. We conveniently paint wide swaths of praise, washing off any stain or whiff of wrongdoing or misstep they may have committed.
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The United States of America is adept at whitewashing its history and covering up crimes and horrors committed throughout its short lifetime. Indulging in egocentric praise for the nation's forefathers - the same group of men who ruined the land and its people through their avarice and mandate.
The road to hell is paved with the intentions for these evangelists spreading their word with their forked tongues and personal agendas. Blatantly using the power vested on them by their office and the folks who elected them. Then and now government officials are tainted by the system they operate in.
How do we fix and correct our information infrastructures? So facts are accurately reported rather than distorted or embellished or even fictionalized? So historical events are recorded across the board and not just by the winners?
Even more complicated and daunting is the road we take to retrieve our lost histories - recovery, repair and reparations - to move us forward. Otherwise, we risk wallowing in and perpetuating the mistakes and crimes of our past.
The choices we stand by today are the paving stones of our future. May we have better cause to celebrate future Presidents Days.