Public Service and Sacrifice

Imperfect Union February 2022

George Washington Returning His Commission

February is kind of like my Olympics and Superbowl all combined together, especially this month. With the paperback release and Presidents’ Day, it’s been a busy month and no sign of slowing down anytime soon. I’ve spent an awful lot of time talking about presidents—the good, the bad, and the ugly. During those conversations, I’ve been thinking a lot about service. What it means to serve the American people.

If I’m being honest, I think most of our presidents have run for office because of ego. They wanted to claim the highest office and enjoy the power that comes with it. Richard Nixon is a pretty obvious example, but some more beloved presidents, like Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt enjoyed that power too. Which isn’t a bad thing per se. Presidents need a certain amount of ego to make the decisions required in the office.

Sometimes that ego presented itself as a genuine belief that they were the only person to fix the problems facing the nation. Again, I think FDR is an example, but also Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, and maybe even Joe Biden. And sometimes, they may have been right. I think FDR was destined for the moment and I could be convinced Biden was the only person that could have brought the Democratic Party together to defeat Trump. Counterfactuals are a tricky business.

George Washington was definitely one of those presidents that were irreplaceable. As I mentioned briefly a few months ago, I will argue until I’m blue in the face that Washington was the only person who could have served as the first president. At a time when nationalism didn’t really exist and very fragile bonds held the states together, Washington was one of the only national figures known to almost all Americans. The only other example was Benjamin Franklin, and he was way too old by 1788. Washington was the only person with the required stature and the only person that Americans trusted to wield the enormous power granted to the president.

And Washington knew it. He knew how close the nation had come to failing during the Confederation period and he knew that most nations didn’t get second chances. One wrong step could prove fatal. He had no choice but to serve. That sounds more than a little melodramatic. But I think he was right.

Now that’s not to say he didn’t have an ego. Lord knows he did. And he was desperately protective of his reputation and honor. Once he decided to stand for election, he wanted to win and his motivations in office were certainly more nuanced. But the decision to run itself was one based on service and sacrifice. Here’s why.

In 1783, Washington had returned his military commission to Congress and was immediately lauded as the American Cincinnatus. He arrived home at Mount Vernon on Christmas, after eight long years at war. He was wealthy, in good health, enjoyed the company of his loving wife, lived in a beautiful home, and had great plans to renovate the plantation and experiment with the agriculture. Most of the men in Washington’s family had died early, so he didn’t know how many years he had and wanted to make the most of them. He was universally respected and intended to enjoy his remaining years at peace as a private citizen. There was only one direction his reputation could go—down—and Washington knew additional public service would risk that reputation he had fought so long to protect.

Four years later, however, the Confederation Congress had failed, and he was summoned to the Constitutional Convention. He didn’t want to go. He initially demurred, and when he finally agreed to go, he dawdled before finally hitting the road for Philadelphia. I believe this reluctance was real.

But Washington, and so many of his contemporaries, believed that service and sacrifice were the price required of “the best men.” In order to be a truly virtuous republican, one had to be willing to sacrifice one’s time, wealth, and personal wishes in favor of the national interests.

John Adams didn’t see his family for years. Henry Knox nearly lost his livelihood and estate. Joseph Warren died in battle. Robert Morris personally funded the Continental Army the final years of the war. And the list goes on and on and on.

I will confess that I don’t know Lincoln’s motivations as well as I understand Washington. I get the sense that he felt called to service and was inspired by the devotion of the founding generation. He was humble and aware of his own deficiencies, so I don’t think he thought he was the only person that could save the Union. But he certainly was compelled to try.

And there is no doubt Lincoln understood sacrifice. He watched soldiers die to defend the Union and issued the orders that sent them into battle. He stayed up many nights agonizing over their future and the right course of action. He reportedly wrote to one grieving mother,

“the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”

(While the authorship of this letter is a bit unclear, this sentiment is one Lincoln would have embraced).

This February, as we are halfway between Lincoln and Washington’s birthday, I don’t think sacrifice and service are at the center of our politics. On one hand, politicians seem consumed by greed or power. Yet, if we take the opposite approach, it’s not like we laud civil servants that do humbly serve. It’s hard to expect the best people to serve and to demand they don’t enrich themselves from public office, when we also don’t celebrate service as a central value of our political life.

I’m not sure what to do about that exactly, but I think it’s something we must consider. Laws and regulations restricting corruption are a start, but our culture needs reform as well. Anyway, service has been on my mind. What comes to mind when you think of Presidents’ Day? How might we restore service to our political culture? I welcome your ideas!