The artist John Trumbull painted a nativity scene. It was the birth of a republic.
The painting is an image of the peaceful transfer of power. George Washington, the victorious general stood in front of the throne of power cloaked in purple. He turns his back on it and returns his commission to civilian authority.
John Trumbull describes the painting:
What a dazzling temptation was here to earthly ambition! Beloved by the military, venerated by the people, who was there to oppose the victorious chief, if he had chosen to retain that power, which he had so long held with universal approbation? The Caesars, the Cromwells, the Napoleons, yielded to the charm of earthly ambition, and betrayed their country; but Washington aspired to loftier, imperishable glory, – to that glory which virtue alone can give, and which no power, no effort, no time, can ever take away or diminish.
Washington projected virtue. He was unselfish. Americans honored that. This became part of the usable history of our country.
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7 comments:
Doesn’t Trump claim to be better than Washington and Lincoln? What a contrast, someone who withdrew from power for the good of the country and someone who did everything he could to hold onto power whether it was illegitimate or not.
I’m sure Washington had his faults, but he did put the US on good footing.
Thank you, Peter, for the timely contrast between then and now.
As some comments yesterday reminded us, our nation is also indebted to the African slave trade. Once we got them whipped into submission, slaves did much of the heavy lifting that built our country, whether they wanted to or not. Of course, we wouldn’t want that taught in school. Too woke – it might make some white kids feel uncomfortable. Better to present it as a guest worker program that improved their quality of life.
Happy Kwanzaa
Salam Shalom Shanti Paz Peace
George Washington possessed the qualities competence, character and charisma. Today's candidates are judged by the electorate for their electability, charisma, connections, fund raising ability, political party, section of the country, and; lastly character and a semblance of competence for the job. Our nascent country, the United States, has seen its share of luck. Slow to see the faults in our politicians who would weaken or destroy our form of government. Question: Is luck what the founders were relying or did see the dangers of greed and power as the major threats?
Washington deserves full marks for refusing the power that was available to him, even offered to him for the taking. But “Washington aspired to loftier, imperishable glory’? That’s (understandable) hagiography, from the types of folks who would in subsequent generations lap up Parson Weems’ fable about the cherry tree. Like his model Cincinnatus, Washington creditably undertook his duty as needed. Then he simply wanted to get back to raising chickens and smoking his pipe on the front stoop, as opposed to mooning about the terms of future repute. Maudlin, ingratiating praise of “Kwanzaa”, the ad hoc creation of a violent felon and FBI stooge steeped in explicit race-hater named Ronald Everett in the late 1960s is another example of hagiography, just coming from the other direction politically. Washington was a realist first and foremost. Trumbull’s “dazzling temptation”, was his own projection, not an accurate description of Washington stoical Deism. No doubt we could use more examples of that today.
It sounds like Trumbull’s painting was just his own projection of the original peaceful transfer of power, a concept that’s an affront to Trump’s legacy. It’s a good thing the Oath Keepers didn’t know that during their “normal tourist visit” to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
P.S. I would hate for anyone to miss Trump's Christmas message, since it was for everyone (I am not making this up):
"Merry Christmas to EVERYONE, including the Radical Left Marxists that are trying to destroy our Country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is illegally coercing & paying Social and LameStream Media to push for a mentally disabled Democrat over the Brilliant, Clairvoyant, and USA LOVING Donald J. Trump, and, of course, The Department of Injustice, which appointed a Special 'Prosecutor' who, together with his wife and family, HATES 'Trump' more than any other person on earth. LOVE TO ALL!"
On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) stated that he is “proud to support” the omnibus bill, but acknowledged that due to the bill coming to the floor at the last minute, there wasn’t “enough time to fully scrub and understand what other members have put in it.” And “I don’t know exactly what every other member of the Senate has put in the bill.”
Coons stated, “I voted for the omnibus and I’m proud to support it.
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