He's No George Washington

Dear Ms. Liberty,

In grade school, on President's Day in February, we learned about the legend of George Washington. 

Young George received a small hatchet from his father, and eventually used it to cut down his father's favorite cherry tree.  When his father asked who chopped down the tree, George answered, "I cannot tell a lie. I cut the tree down with my hatchet."

No historical records from Washington's childhood mention any hatchet incident, yet it became a teaching tool, a symbol reminding children of the importance of telling the truth.  And speaking of cherry trees and telling the truth... 

Recently, the Occupant of the Oval Office quietly removed over 60 trees, including two historic sycamore trees, but most of all several cherry trees gifted to us by Japan in 1912.  For 114 years, these trees stood in DC and drew millions to the city to celebrate their beautiful pink blossoms. Throughout their history, the trees were not only celebrated for their blossoms, but four trees were chopped down in defiance as a symbol of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Occupant of the Oval Office removed these trees as part of a remodel and expansion after seizing control of the East Potomac Golf Links, a public course owned by the National Park Service.  Preservationists claim he violated an 1897 congressional act that the park was for the "recreation and pleasure of the people." A U.S. District Judge ruled no more than ten trees could be removed, and the occupant of the Oval Office was to provide advance notice of when the removal would take place. The judge never received notice, and over 60 trees were removed.

In April, the nation was gifted 250 new cherry blossom trees as we headed into celebration of America's 250th anniversary. The trees were planted in areas like the Tidal Basin, the U.S. National Arboretum, and Anacostia Park. The new trees now offer some consolation after the loss of the historic cherry trees Japan gifted.

Losing these gifted trees represents more than their history; it's just another impudent, arrogant act by the Oval Office in the destruction of our iconic, sentimental monuments: Jackie Kennedy's Rose Garden, the East Wing, the Kennedy Center, the fake gold medallions and signage of the Oval Office that now resembles Saddam Hussein's bathroom, and the debris and materials from the demolished East Wing were hauled away and dumped at a back portion of the East Potomac Golf Links. And it is more than the tangible: the dismantling of federal programs, economic protections, environmental regulations, and democratic norms.

If you're a student or reader of world history, you will remember the first Roman dictators to the famous five of the 20th Century; they removed, restricted, and banned to take away the spirit of the country.  

Did I mention the iconic Weeping Willow trees at the Kennedy Center, planted as symbols of National Grief, have been chopped down? 

Yours truly, 
C~