2025 March Winds: Not a Weather Report

Here in Washington DC,  it is unusually blustery with chill winds but sun-filled skies at times too. Maybe that signals how we are doing in our country.

Every winter, we celebrate several of our past presidents; we are now getting ready for a grand celebration of America’s 250th birthday. These are opportunities to learn more about our history and core values.  Many of us do not know that some of our country’s founders and our first president, George Washington, feared that our democratic republic would not survive. One of Washington’s great fears was the growth of a two-party system and the potential for baking in partisan conflict that could weaken us.

Look at us now.

In his superb 2024 book, Pursuit of Happiness, Jeffrey Rosen writes not about visiting spas and acquiring material possessions but tells about our founders’ ideas about how we should conduct ourselves as citizens to shape and sustain our country. Rosen distilled some of their philosophies into an overall theme of taming our passions enough to practice civic virtue. (The organization Rosen heads is the National Constitution Center and is an attractive and informative place to visit online and in person.)

We are people of strong passions and ideals and we hold diverse beliefs. But we are citizens of one magnificent country. As we approach the celebrations in 2026 of America’s birth, let’s pause to think. What will each of us commit to do to tame our passions enough to tame partisan rancor and uncivil dialogue? Go on a media diet so we are not regularly exposed to anger and bias-triggering verbiage ? Demand that our political party of choice give better than lip service to unity and civility? Find ways to reach out, listen and be civil to someone with whom we otherwise disagree? Find a helpful way to be of service in our community?