“There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature.
Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.”
The more I learn about George Washington, the more I respect and admire him. Living somewhat near his estate of Mt. Vernon, I have had the opportunity to tour it a number of times and I've found that:
- He could have been crowned King of America, but wanted something better for the new American republic
- He was keenly aware that everything he did would set a precedence and conducted himself accordingly
- He had to be worked on to take a second term in office
- He left Washington after his second term in office so that the country would be forced to work with the next president, rather than continuing to come to him
- He planted trial crops from seeds collected from all over to see how they would do
- His sincerest belief was that one should come to Washington to serve, and then go back home to work at a real job
Frankly, were he alive today I believe he would be appalled at our current crop of professional politicians.
