BOYLAN: George Washington’s farewell address, Sept. 17, 1796

Published 10:00 am Friday, August 19, 2022

‘However political parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

I find it instructive that President Washington’s observation was made at the very birth of our country. We applaud the courage and innovation that he and others manifested at the onset. It seems that his observation was entirely prescient when the events of today evidenced by our elected leaders are made manifest. I am reminded of the persons closely associated with the leadership of our country who are able to arrange financial understandings that not only enrich themselves but are not legally available to the population at large. What is made even more egregious it that nothing — nothing — is being done to pursue justice … a justice that would be immediately inflicted on you and I were we to engage in the financial dealings with other countries who are nominally considered to be political opponents. Of course, I refer to Iran and China. It is an indisputable fact that such arrangements, not available to the population at large — and, in fact, are considered to be illegal — are undertaken by the leadership of our country and their families. Of course … it is swept under the rug and we the people are provided the pap that politicians express to hide their peccadillos that would be avidly pursued were we the citizens to participate in similar activities. It is not necessary to expend much effort to discover who in our political administration is guilty of such.

An observation made by President Washington more than 200 years ago was prescient and descriptive of the situation(s) we citizens of today are made aware of and the efforts made to camouflage and hide the activities that any of we citizens would be found guilty of participating in.

Peter J. Boylan

Milledgeville