Observing MLK day but not President's Day?

My children's school district gave them MLK day off, but they do not have President's Day off. What did Washington and Lincoln ever do for this country anyway?



I just think it is ridiculous that my children have MLK day off, but not the day that celebrates our Founding Father's birthday (and that Lincoln guy, too).

Agreed 110%. It clearly shows the priorities of Washington elitists. Washington's actual birthday is Feb. 22. Yet, we celebrate his birthday on "President's Day" on the 3rd Mon. of Feb. Every year that will fall between Feb. 15-21. We will never celebrate Washington's birthday on Feb. 22. They don't even call it Washington's birthday anymore - it's Presidents Day.



That other guy - Lincoln. His birthday is Feb. 12. He's never had his birthday actually celebrated as a stand alone holiday (I guess he didn't do anything that really deserves it). He just got lumped into Washington's birthday, and they re-named it President's Day.



Virginia, the home state of Washington still celebrate "George Washington Day." Yeah for them.



Here in Calif., nobody really cares. It's just a day off for those old dudes. No respect. No understanding.



But, to be fair, MLK Jr.'s birthday is Jan. 15th. Yet, it's celebrated the 3rd Mon. of Jan.



I'm glad we recognize the effort and sacrifice of Martin Luther King Jr., so we never forget our ugly history. But, for the same reason, we should recognize the great effort, sacrifices and achievements of both Washington and Lincoln. Without them, this Nation would not exist today. I think they deserve a day, with their name on it, and not a generic glossed over day that means nothing.



Just my humble opinion, which means nada.

Cougarfan87 wrote:
My children's school district gave them MLK day off, but they do not have President's Day off. What did Washington and Lincoln ever do for this country anyway?



I just think it is ridiculous that my children have MLK day off, but not the day that celebrates our Founding Father's birthday (and that Lincoln guy, too).

You don't strike me as someone who lets their children's school district dictate their Children's holidays. I know that I don't - If I want my kids out of school on President's day - they are! I let the school know that it was a parental decision, and that they ain't gonna ge the $35.00 or whatever the state is paying them per day for my kid being there, but if they had scheduled the day off and had that school day on-not-a holiday, then my kid would have been there.

When I was a kid we had George Washington and Lincoln's birthdays off.



The funny thing about MLK day is I'm pretty sure MLK wouldn't want a national or any other kind of holiday associated with his birthday. George Washington wouldn't either - not sure about Lincoln. He was a big government dude.



Not that I think we should have either day as a holiday but what is your reasoning for elevating president's day above any other day of the year?

MLK day wasn't "celebrated" as an entire country until 1993 when Arizona got tired of not getting the Super Bowl and changed their state law to make it a holiday.

I've actually got no problem with it whatsoever and think it's a silly thing to complain about. Washington and Lincoln are honored plenty enough for what they've done. MLK can have his day and that does nothing to cheapen the legacy of our former presidents.



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Cougarfan87 wrote:
My children's school district gave them MLK day off, but they do not have President's Day off. What did Washington and Lincoln ever do for this country anyway?



I just think it is ridiculous that my children have MLK day off, but not the day that celebrates our Founding Father's birthday (and that Lincoln guy, too).

I'm with you. Not only is MLK day a holiday, but there are all kinds of parades and other celebrations, while the old holidays to honor Washington and Lincoln (yeah, both used to be holidays) were basically done away with when MLK day was designated. I think it's very sad that he has become more important than either of these great presidents.

jvquarterback wrote:
When I was a kid we had George Washington and Lincoln's birthdays off.



The funny thing about MLK day is I'm pretty sure MLK wouldn't want a national or any other kind of holiday associated with his birthday. George Washington wouldn't either - not sure about Lincoln. He was a big government dude.



Not that I think we should have either day as a holiday but what is your reasoning for elevating president's day above any other day of the year?

I just believe Washington, in particular, has done more for this country than any other human being in our Nation's history. I studied him back in undergrad at BYU and am amazed at his humility, bravery, and self sacrifice even though he weilded a lot of power. Very few men can have that kind of power and not let it corrupt them personally or professionally. He was an almost unanimous pick for President and served two terms, establishing the precedent that a President should only sit for two terms (FDR must have skipped history class that day). He could have served a third, but thought better of it. He was not only an honorable man, but a great leader specifically preserved to bring about this nation. If you haven't read Bulletproof George Washington, it is a very good quick read that talks about how divinity intervened to preserve George Washington during the French and Indian War (all officers killed but him, horse shot out from under him several times, bullet holes through his clothes, but was not harmed, etc.). There's an article I read in poli-sci that was really good too, but for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of it. This link isn't even close to the article I cannot think of, but gives a pretty good summary about how I feel about George Washington http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,592462,00.html



In my mind, he is the ideal of what a public servant should be.

I tried to get April 6 off every year of high school citing it as a religious holiday. But it always fell during Spring Break.

bigbluepuma wrote:

My children's school district gave them MLK day off, but they do not have President's Day off. What did Washington and Lincoln ever do for this country anyway?



I just think it is ridiculous that my children have MLK day off, but not the day that celebrates our Founding Father's birthday (and that Lincoln guy, too).

I'm with you. Not only is MLK day a holiday, but there are all kinds of parades and other celebrations, while the old holidays to honor Washington and Lincoln (yeah, both used to be holidays) were basically done away with when MLK day was designated. I think it's very sad that he has become more important than either of these great presidents.

What have you done for me lately? It's been a long time since Washington did anything for us.

Cougarfan87 wrote:

When I was a kid we had George Washington and Lincoln's birthdays off.



The funny thing about MLK day is I'm pretty sure MLK wouldn't want a national or any other kind of holiday associated with his birthday. George Washington wouldn't either - not sure about Lincoln. He was a big government dude.



Not that I think we should have either day as a holiday but what is your reasoning for elevating president's day above any other day of the year?

I just believe Washington, in particular, has done more for this country than any other human being in our Nation's history. I studied him back in undergrad at BYU and am amazed at his humility, bravery, and self sacrifice even though he weilded a lot of power. Very few men can have that kind of power and not let it corrupt them personally or professionally. He was an almost unanimous pick for President and served two terms, establishing the precedent that a President should only sit for two terms (FDR must have skipped history class that day). He could have served a third, but thought better of it. He was not only an honorable man, but a great leader specifically preserved to bring about this nation. If you haven't read Bulletproof George Washington, it is a very good quick read that talks about how divinity intervened to preserve George Washington during the French and Indian War (all officers killed but him, horse shot out from under him several times, bullet holes through his clothes, but was not harmed, etc.). There's an article I read in poli-sci that was really good too, but for the life of me, I cannot remember the name of it. This link isn't even close to the article I cannot think of, but gives a pretty good summary about how I feel about George Washington http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,592462,00.html



In my mind, he is the ideal of what a public servant should be.

I agree Washington was far and away the best president. It isn't even close.



Washington would be appalled if you told him you wanted his birthday to be a national holiday. He would be even more appalled if you tried to set up a national holiday celebrating the office of the president.



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Do you think Washington would be appalled at the idea of a day honoring the greatest men to lead our country throughout its history? I don't.

I think Washington would be appalled that we haven't made Obama's birthday a national holiday yet.

;)

I celebrate MLK day on Apr. 4. Sorry. I grew up with the man and hold him in the highest disdain. And I feel that way towards him as an individual, not as a man of color. Unfortunately, everyone calls me racist because I dare say so. Nothing could be further from the truth.

And jvquarterback is correct. Growing up in CA, we had both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays off from school. Unless they fell on weekends. Back then you just lost out on the holiday if it was a weekend. From what I understand, when the decision was made to have an MLK day they didn't want to add another paid holiday to the system, so they combined the two February days to make room for the one January day. And remember the heat Utah took for calling it Human Rights Day? SLC once took a lot of heat because it was the largest city in the US without a MLK Blvd.



Politics and political correctness does dictate a lot of the evolution of our society. For better or for worse. It is what it is.

Mars wrote:


George Washington was this country's 2nd most-wealthy President (compared to the national average). His salary? 3% of the US GDP!

That can't be true. We despise the wealthy!

1967cougar wrote:
I celebrate MLK day on Apr. 4. Sorry. I grew up with the man and hold him in the highest disdain. And I feel that way towards him as an individual, not as a man of color. Unfortunately, everyone calls me racist because I dare say so. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Alright, I have to ask: What makes you hate the man enough to celebrate the day he was assassinated? Saying you celebrate the day the premier black civil rights leader was murdered comes off as extremely racist.

JayhawkCoug wrote:

I celebrate MLK day on Apr. 4. Sorry. I grew up with the man and hold him in the highest disdain. And I feel that way towards him as an individual, not as a man of color. Unfortunately, everyone calls me racist because I dare say so. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Alright, I have to ask: What makes you hate the man enough to celebrate the day he was assassinated? Saying you celebrate the day the premier black civil rights leader was murdered comes off as extremely racist.

Yes it does. And I am sorry for that.I grew up very conservative (I also didn't like those long-haired Beatles) and respected the law. What I saw happening in the '60's was an increased effort to gain individual rights despite of the law. Dr. King broke many laws as part of his groundswell of support. It's not like he killed anyone or robbed banks. But to me protesting without a permit and inciting riotous actions with your words was 100% wrong. The ends didn't justify the means. Perhaps my teenage glasses were too rose colored. I didn't like it when my friend in 8th grade had his baseball mitt taken away by two bigger and stronger black kids at our school and they made him pray to them to get his mitt back. I didn't like it in 10th grade when a huge black dude at my high school shoved another friend to the ground and scraped off his Goldwater/Miller sticker he had on his locker, amid threats to kill him if he put it back up.



So I lived through the violence that stemmed from the early civil rights movement and it disgusted me. Would I have ever pulled the trigger that killed King? Heavens no! But I felt the forever silencing of his rhetoric was a good thing.



Years later I look back and see that what happened brought about equality much quicker than if it had been fought for through legal channels. But it still saddens me that it happened the way it did. It was one component that began the decay of our society's morals. Lawlessness should not be justified because of a good cause. A good cause should find good ways to come to fruition. (This is not the place to bring up the American Revolution - not an apples to apples comparison).



Having said all that, I have many good black friends. Yet, there are many areas I would never go into because of the mindset of the blacks who live there. Same thing with white gang areas - or any other unsafe area. Heck, there's even bad cowboys out there, not to mention Ute fans!



So, yeah, I fight the racist tag from time to time. but those who know me realize that nothing could be farther from the truth. Hope that clears things up a bit. I don't expect anyone to agree with me. But I expect to have the right to my opinion.

1967cougar wrote:

1967cougar wrote:
I celebrate MLK day on Apr. 4. Sorry. I grew up with the man and hold him in the highest disdain. And I feel that way towards him as an individual, not as a man of color. Unfortunately, everyone calls me racist because I dare say so. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Alright, I have to ask: What makes you hate the man enough to celebrate the day he was assassinated? Saying you celebrate the day the premier black civil rights leader was murdered comes off as extremely racist.

Yes it does. And I am sorry for that.I grew up very conservative (I also didn't like those long-haired Beatles) and respected the law. What I saw happening in the '60's was an increased effort to gain individual rights despite of the law. Dr. King broke many laws as part of his groundswell of support. It's not like he killed anyone or robbed banks. But to me protesting without a permit and inciting riotous actions with your words was 100% wrong. The ends didn't justify the means. Perhaps my teenage glasses were too rose colored. I didn't like it when my friend in 8th grade had his baseball mitt taken away by two bigger and stronger black kids at our school and they made him pray to them to get his mitt back. I didn't like it in 10th grade when a huge black dude at my high school shoved another friend to the ground and scraped off his Goldwater/Miller sticker he had on his locker, amid threats to kill him if he put it back up.



So I lived through the violence that stemmed from the early civil rights movement and it disgusted me. Would I have ever pulled the trigger that killed King? Heavens no! But I felt the forever silencing of his rhetoric was a good thing.



Years later I look back and see that what happened brought about equality much quicker than if it had been fought for through legal channels. But it still saddens me that it happened the way it did. It was one component that began the decay of our society's morals. Lawlessness should not be justified because of a good cause. A good cause should find good ways to come to fruition. (This is not the place to bring up the American Revolution - not an apples to apples comparison).



Having said all that, I have many good black friends. Yet, there are many areas I would never go into because of the mindset of the blacks who live there. Same thing with white gang areas - or any other unsafe area. Heck, there's even bad cowboys out there, not to mention Ute fans!



So, yeah, I fight the racist tag from time to time. but those who know me realize that nothing could be farther from the truth. Hope that clears things up a bit. I don't expect anyone to agree with me. But I expect to have the right to my opinion.

You absolutely do have that right, and I appreciate you sharing it with me. Thanks for satiating my curiosity.