PATRIOTIC CHEESECAKE & CUPCAKES
“Guard against
the impostures
of pretended
patriotism.”
George Washington shared
that caution in his 1796 “Farewell Address” -- a letter written by the
first American President to "The People of the United States.”
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| A broadside of George Washington's Farewell Address, from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress |
It is a classic document of democracy, certainly appropriate
for considering – albeit briefly – on Memorial Day 2013.
Its basic purpose:
To warn Americans of the political dangers they can and must avoid if they are
to remain true to their values.
Thumbnail history:
The first draft was originally prepared
with the help of James Madison in 1792 when it appeared Washington would serve
only one term as President.
Four years later,
as his second term came to a close, Washington revisited the letter and, with
the help of Alexander Hamilton, prepared a revision of the original draft to announce
his intention to decline a third term in office.
The letter’s still relevant. It’s all about the Constitution and
political factions … unity and sectionalism … checks and balances and the
separation of power … credit and government borrowing … foreign relations and
free trade … education and morality.
I think it’s an
interesting document worth reviewing for a number of timely reasons, starting
with “original intent.”
But why today? Today’s Memorial Day observances are forever
linked with the battles our country has endured since the founding, especially
the so-called Civil War. The underlying “governmental” causes and concerns of
that nature are just the kind of issues that the forward-thinking Founding Fathers
intended to address in this, well, Address.
Clearly the
issues have not abated, even in the 21st Century.
They span levels both trivial and consequential. Compare and contrast the recent
tempest-in-a-Tea-Party cup/IRS/tax-exemption brouhaha to the ongoing discussion
of limits on personal freedom being exercised in the name of national security.
But what really
put me in the mood for this TGIM Topic of “pretended patriotism” is
the synthesis of the trivial with the timely in the pre-Memorial Day
supermarket insert that arrived in my recent newspaper.
In the midst of
touting all the stuff they were encouraging we stock up on for today’s
ceremonial launch of the cookout season (and let’s be clear, I don’t object to
that), they featured –
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| ►Patriotic Cheesecake |
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►Patriotic Cupcakes |
Call me a curmudgeon, but: Calling baked goods “patriotic” does not make them so.
Worse: It erodes further the most attractive parts of the idea and ideal of
patriotism.
Not to make too much of it, but: If we’re talking patriotism on Memorial
Day, an annual commemoration of folks who did what they believed was their
patriotic duty, then it’s probably best exemplified in the standard articulated
by Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965):
“The noble
kind of patriotism …
aims at
ends that are worthy of the whole of mankind.”
Today as we give an extra thought to those we perceive have
done their patriotic duty, don’t let a burger and beer and colorful cupcakes or
cheesy thoughts about sinful cheesecake distract you.
TGIM ACTION IDEA: Love our country, but not because it’s easy
to parrot U.S. naval commander Stephen Decatur’s 1816 toast, “Our country! … may she always be in the
right; but our country, right or wrong.”
Think about
Washington’s cautionary farewell. Guard against impostures. Love our
country and stand patriotically for it, not simply for the sake of loving one’s
country, but for what it stands for and by the ideals of truth and justice and
caring for humanity.
Carl Schurz did. Nearby
my home in New Jersey is a park dedicated to his memory. Memorial Day will be
commemorated there. He’s buried across the Hudson River in Sleepy Hollow
Cemetery. There are many other monuments
to him around the country (and in Germany) although you probably know little of
him.
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| Carl Schurz in 1877 (Photo by celebrated 19th Century photojournalist Mathew Brady) |
Schurz, (1829 – 1906) was a German revolutionary, American
statesman and reformer, U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Union Army General in the
Civil War, and Secretary of the Interior. He was also an accomplished
journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869, became the first
German-born American elected to the U.S. Senate. His wife, Margarethe, was
instrumental in establishing the kindergarten system in the United States.
During his later years, Schurz was perhaps the most
prominent independent in American politics, noted for his high principles, his
avoidance of political partisanship, and his moral conscience.
TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Love our country like Carl Schurz. He
patriotically revived – and dramatically revised and improved -- the words of
Stephen Decatur.
Schurz said, “Our
country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put
right.”
On guard against the
impostures. And trying to continue to do my patriotic duty and put things
right.
Now pass the cupcakes, please.
Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
