Civics: George Washington, the wisest president, proposed that we live by three fundamental principles: liberty, conscience, and tolerance.
Elon Musk, in a set-to about immigration, made a superb point: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.” Then of course he added: “Take a big step back and F— YOURSELF in the face.”
The 2024 presidential election was for many a vote against—against not just Kamala Harris or Donald Trump but everything each one conceivably represented.
Despite the alienation, one senses a postelection mood that enough is finally enough.
“Common ground” is generally thought of as political compromise, which presumably is House Speaker Mike Johnson’s crime against humanity with his infinitesimal majority. But maybe it would be progress to establish as a baseline that we occupy the same plot of earth.
A reader this past week sent a note suggesting that everyone would benefit from reading George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Hebrew congregation in Newport, R.I. He’s right. The brief, famous letter from the first president—maybe America’s wisest man—is appropriate today:
