In 2009, George W. Bush invited President-elect Obama and all former living presidents for lunch…
This was two weeks before the country’s transfer of power from Bush to Obama.
Bush, a Republican, and Obama, a Democrat, met privately for about 30 minutes ahead of the wider gathering.
Then former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both Democrats, and Republican George H.W. Bush, George Bush’s father, met Bush and Obama in the Oval Office for a photo session with journalists.
It was the first such gathering of former U.S. heads of state at the White House in 27 years.
“I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch,” the younger Bush told Obama, who stood next to him, nodding.
“One message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed. Whether we’re Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country,” Bush said.
Do YOU think we will ever get back to a time when presidents and ex-presidents, Democrat and Republican, will be able to sit down together and enjoy having lunch together?
THE TASK AHEAD OF YOU IS NEVER AS GREAT AS THE POWER OF GOD BEHIND YOU!
My Commentary:
In January 2009, as one administration prepared to leave and another prepared to take office, former presidents from both political parties gathered in the White House. Republicans and Democrats sat together, laughed together, and spoke openly about the future of the nation.
President George W. Bush offered a simple message to President-elect Barack Obama: “We want you to succeed. Whether we’re Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country.”
Those words seem almost startling today.
Perhaps it is because we have grown accustomed to seeing politics as a battlefield where every disagreement becomes a personal attack and every opponent becomes an enemy. Yet the men in that room understood something important. They disagreed on many issues. They had competed fiercely. But they shared a love for the same country.
From a Christian perspective, there is a lesson here that reaches far beyond politics. Jesus never commanded us to agree with everyone. He did command us to love one another. He taught us to respect the dignity of those who think differently than we do, to pray for those with whom we disagree, and to seek the common good.
As America approaches its 250th birthday, perhaps the question is not whether the spirit reflected in that gathering is gone forever. The better question is whether we are willing to revive it.
That renewal will not begin in Washington. It will begin in our homes, churches, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods. It will begin when we listen more carefully, speak more kindly, and refuse to reduce people to political labels.
A healthy democracy requires vigorous debate. But it also requires mutual respect.
Our children and grandchildren deserve an America where citizens can disagree passionately while still recognizing one another as fellow Americans.
The former presidents in that room were not united by ideology. They were united by something larger: a shared commitment to the nation they loved.
That is not a Republican value.
That is not a Democratic value.
That is an American value.
And it is one worth passing on to the next generation.
There is a wonderful line from St. Augustine that seems fitting:
“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Imagine how different our families, churches, communities, and politics would be if we practiced that wisdom.
As we celebrate 250 years of America, perhaps the greatest gift we can give our children and grandchildren is not agreement on every issue, but the example of how to disagree with grace, listen with humility, and love our country enough to place its future above our own preferences.
That spirit is still alive. It only needs YOU and me who are willing to nurture it.
What I do in 62 short Chapters of WHAT MAKES AMERICA AMERICA is tell the American Story, concluding with a letter from Elvis. This is a special challenge inherent in unifying a polarized nation around a common understanding of our history.
I’d like for you to tell me how I’ve done. Click on https://a.co/d/00Lyqe1C to my Amazon page and read the first 13 Chapters for FREE. I really would like to hear from you and what you think about my book.
