History remembers those who do right

When George Washington decided to step down from the presidency after two terms, Great Britain’s monarch was amazed.

This one great act, reasoned England’s King George, meant that President George Washington’s name will live forever. King George’s prediction reverberated with me this week in Washington D.C, where thousands of onlookers clogged the National Mall to hear conservative television personalities Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.

Their mutual target was and is President Barack Obama. Depending on the time of year and the day of the week, Obama is one of these things: a terrorist sympathiser, a Muslim, a Kenyan and a Godless socialist.

Of course, none of these things are true. But it does make for good television. My question: Will Beck and Palin be remembered in 200 years like George Washington?

The mall, which stretches from the Lincoln Memorial to the US Capitol, was jammed with Obama supporters only 19 months ago. The Obama crowd, I noticed, was of every race and age in America, and they had come to celebrate the inauguration of America’s 44th president.

The thousands who lined up last weekend were impressive in size and lack of diversity. They tended to be, at least to my eye, mostly middle-aged and white. They were also largely from out of town, and some had come a long distance.

The symbolic fact that the Beck-Palin rally occurred on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech did not escape most. King’s speech began the process for Obama to become our first black president.

It also ushered in an era of large gatherings in Washington that seem to happen every day, and aren’t remembered for more than 48 hours. In President George Washington’s era, there was a lot of religious prejudice in America.

That fact is rather stunning in a country that was founded in part to give religious freedom to its citizens. Particularly harsh was the criticism of the Jewish people. President Washington would have none of it.

In a letter to a Jewish congregation, our first president wrote: “For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection, should demean themselves as good citizens.”

Washington’s letter is read every year in synagogues in America. Kenyans should take note of two things about the Beck-Palin event. First, a democracy allows for freedom of speech, even if it’s deeply critical of the country’s leadership.

Second, there will be politicians who oppose the Kenyan Constitution — just like those who do not support President Obama — and they will attempt to dismember it at every opportunity.

In America, nothing is ever truly done. The same is true in Kenya. That’s democracy. But history shows us those who are remembered are the ones who do the right thing. King George realised it. So should we.

letters9876@gmail.com