Today, as I write this post, we are historically between Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Inauguration Day. We are between a day of peace and a day of transition. It got me thinking about peaceful transition.
When George Washington decided to not campaign for another term as President, and our fledgling country held its first election, then had its first peaceful transition of power, it was not just a first for the United States, it was a first for the world.
Or was it? Some historians say that truly the first peaceful transition of power was in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson was elected our third President. John Adams and George Washington were of the same political party. So, although the person in the Presidency changed the power didn’t.
Adams did not attend Jefferson’s Inauguration. Neither did Adams’ son when he lost the 1828 election to Andrew Jackson. The last willful non-attendance was in 1869 when Andrew Johnson refused to show up to see Ulysses S. Grant become President. Woodrow Wilson did not attend Harding’s Inauguration, but that was due to poor health.
Everyone at PR/PR wishes for a peaceful transition of power, not only tomorrow, but in all elections for the future of our country. This is what democracy is supposed to be. One group wins an election and works with the other groups who didn’t win. That way, when the other groups do win, they will work with the one that won last time.
There’s the historical farewell saying of “Peace Out!” Here’s to Peace In (our country, our families, our lives)!
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