First John McCain and now George H.W. Bush. It seems like 2018 has taken its fair share of men who exemplified what it meant to be a statesman and a patriot. I’d like to take a moment today to briefly remember a man who, regardless of political affiliation, was someone who every public servant should strive to emulate.His record of service reads like few others: President and Vice President of the United States, Director of the CIA, Ambassador to the UN, Member of the House of Representatives, and Lieutenant in the United States Navy. While it is not a given that a former President lays in state at the Capitol, if ever there was a list of accomplishments befitting someone that honor, it would be George H.W. Bush.
A Quality Family Man
While the accolades for President Bush could fill three blog listings, many news stories and remembrances that are flooding in about our 41st President are not about his service to the country but his love of his family and friends.The Bushes had a summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Back in the 1970s, a different family member owned the compound and it was a time of soaring real estate prices along the New England coastline. Instead of letting the longtime family retreat be sold, George H.W. Bush stepped in and purchased what is known as Walker’s Point from his relative, ensuring the land and home would remain in the family.Some of the warmest photos displaying his love for his family and his human qualities come from many of the news stories and pictures from Walker’s Point. It also appears that the people in the Kennebunkport also saw him as a warm “everyman” telling stories of how he would have supper at the local diner with Barbara or how he’d invite people he’d meet in town to go out on his fishing boat with him.The power and fame that came with being a President never went to his head, either. His ability to remain a grounded family man and friend is something not often seen in people who rise to such lofty positions.
Bringing People Together
Perhaps if there is any silver lining to the death of this great hero, it is that in his passing, he has brought people of different ideologies together to remind us that at the core, we’re not Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal. We’re Americans.Some of the warmest tributes about our 41st President have come from both the Clinton and Obama families. While they are open about their disagreements on how to make America better, they were able to put aside those differences and based on what we’ve been able to see over the last few days, truly enjoyed each other’s company and respected each other in a way that is missing in politics today.This is not a political blog by any means, but over the last few years, it appears to me that it doesn’t matter what side you’re on, as long as you pick a side. These days, picking a side also means disliking the people on the other side. As George H.W. Bush has shown us, and as his legacy is proving out from its early days, it doesn’t have to be this way.No matter your opinion on immigration, the economy or climate change, those with views different than yours should not be your enemy. Just because they subscribe to a different ideology does not make them bad or untrustworthy.A return to the political arena of the late 1980s would be a return to a more civil time of discourse where George H.W. Bush showed its possible to govern without hate, resentment and retribution.We need these attributes in our leaders today, and we need to model them for our children.Goodbye 41, YOU will be missed.