Amid Personal Loss, Washington And Lincoln Became Fathers Of Their Country

This toast was made at the D.C. Hillsdale annual Washington-Lincoln Toast to celebrate Washington’s birthday. Many mistakenly call it a national holiday. “Presidents Day.“

We often think about Lincoln and Washington, but our minds are drawn back to these great fathers. You might picture Washington crossing the Delaware, or perhaps he humbly resigning in Annapolis or preside over the Constitutional Convention. We might also think of Lincoln, towering over McClellan and sitting proudly in his majestic memorial, just a few Smithsonians further away. At the risk of somber reflection, let me share with you two beautiful, but deeply sorrowful images to help foster greater love for Washington and Lincoln and encourage our own acts of service, despite our difficult union.

Imagine Lincoln with the first wife in an upper room in the White House. They were there to watch over Willie Lincoln’s dying son on a freezing February night. Willie had his bath filled with water from Franklin Square’s underground spring. It was likely poisoned by sewage seepage. The careless ignorance of all led to the death of the 12-year-old son of the president that night, in the middle of the Civil War.

Consider Washington, seated beside Patsy Custis his adopted daughter, and weeping in silent prayer for her recovery. The Good Lord would also take her in that same day at the age of 17. Washington, her father, was there to care for her since her childhood. He kept a detailed log of all her seizures which eventually led to her tragic death.

Consider this: To be a father to the country even if careless countrymen or a loving God take their children; to serve the nation and in doing so lovingly to adopt America; to give us the gift and privilege of political fatherhood even if the rewards of personal dadhood are gone.

It is perseverance, a greatness in soul, an image that these two great fathers can be seen and treasured.

Today is the same as it was in yesterday’s day. Our countrymen do not always yield up the best private goods for ourselves and our children; at times, through carelessness or even malice, they reach out to harm our private goods and wound the hearts and minds — even the bodies — of our children. But if we treasure the images put before us today, if we treasure Washington and Lincoln’s model of fatherhood — natural, adoptive, and expansive even unto the whole of the country — then we too can build up what others break, heal what others wound, and bring justice, order, and peace by means of a love far greater than our own private interest … just as our fathers did.

As such,