GEORGE WASHINGTON: On political parties

Unsurmountable obstacles caused by time and space cause us to ignore the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Our first President George Washington is an example.

He refused to allow political parties to be a part of his administration. In his “Farewell Address” given Sept. 17, 1798, he said this:

“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.”

Forgive us Mr. President for not paying attention. We need to work our way out of this mess. Maybe candidates for office should refuse to define themselves as either a Democrat or a Republican, but rather by what they will do if granted office. Then we can send these two words to history’s trash heap.

RICHARD SHELDON

Coeur d’Alene