By Barry Curtis
Last Thursday April 25, 2013 Dallas, Texas commanded the attention of the world as the media focused on the dedication and opening of the George w bush presidential library. This modern massive complex dominates the campus of southern Methodist University near the heart of the city of Dallas.
The grandeur and prominence given to the event was both warranted and long overdue for the former president. That’s not however the story here. George Bush stood on stage with three former presidents. The presidents that graced the stage were both democrats (Carter, Clinton and Obama) and republicans (George Bush 41 and 43).
Did you see the majesty of all the living presidents standing together? What a powerful sight. You see the power and the majesty of it is not in the picture itself but what the entire ceremony meant to our core principles. There stood in evidence for all to witness the peaceful succession of authority of the most powerful office in the world. There stood for all to witness the enduring workings of the constitution. There we saw in the faces of those older men the fulfillment of Jefferson’s and Lincoln’s hope of a strong and tempered executive branch.
It is rare in the history of any nation to have so many former leaders alive. What wealth of knowledge and experience could these men share with one another? How could the current and future president’s benefit from these tested leaders?
What would Washington, Adams and Madison think of such a sight? It is clear that our founding fathers meant the occupants of the White House to be temporary in nature. Our founding fathers knew all too well the threat of so much amassed power on a free people. The architects of the constitution built in many checks and balances to regulate against such a person assuming too much power or authority that the constitution clearly didn’t grant.
We could all argue the role and the need for a role of former presidents, we could argue the role or the need for a role of a presidential library, but two things are clear. One, our founding authorities wanted to secure that the nation’s highest office was ran by just what we saw on stage last week old, grey haired wise men. The constitution mandates that a qualification for the presidency is they are to be a citizen at least 35 years of age. In 1779 this was considered middle aged, because the life expectancy was only 60 years old. Secondly, it was clear that our founding patriots wanted to relegate the “former” chief execute to regular citizen status. Nothing does that better than getting old.
I thank our former presidents for not making their tenure and life an exclusive club, but a source of reflection on the brilliance that was our founding fathers. Also, the successes of that amazing document that is our best and original argument for freedom.
