Down on the day.

Just not feeling it for Presidents Day this year. Can't get worked up about it.

It's not that the day confuses me, although it does. The federal government still celebrates this as Washington's Birthday, but that falls on February 22, which is also a Monday. So why are we celebrating this on the 15th? If they want it on a Monday, why not the actual Monday rather than the Monday before? No sense.

And it's not just because I'm a freelancer, and so I never get a day off. (Even yesterday, when I had a very busy Sunday, I still had to put an hour in; today will be a lot more.)

And it's not because I have something against the presidents. I mean, yes, I do, against some of them, but overall, of the 43 men who have held the presidency, I think 21 of them get my Good rating, and 10 get a Meh. Only 12 get a Bad rating from me. When you consider the kind of egotism and contempt for others that usually accompany men who seek high office, 12 out of 43 is not that bad.

I am refusing to count Cleveland as two presidents in my total, so we have 43.

So why can't I get all happy about the holiday? What's the matter?

I'm certainly not alone in thinking that America has completely lost her way, even more so than in the Vietnam era when everyone felt the joint was coming apart at the seams. At least then, regardless of what shenanigans politicians pulled, the people were pretty solid, meaning they believed in work and family, and even God. Now work is for suckers, families are shattered everywhere, and God is supposedly being supplanted by Science, whatever that's supposed to mean.

So there's that, plus the fact that it is an election year, and I have never seen such a sickening crop of dodos running for office in my life. Every bright spot that pops up soon winks out. (Apologies, Gov. Pataki, grateful as I am for your actions during 9/11, I do not consider the loss of your candidacy a tragic moment for America.)

It's just hard looking at the landscape to feel that the idea of America means anything to anyone anymore, and if that's the case, even my 21 good presidents are just chumps who were wasting their time. I've said before that I need a program like Amer-anon, to learn to separate with love, that I might still love my country but not let my life be ruined by her foolish and depressing behavior. Maybe it's time.

(If you're interested in my list of the Good, the Bad, and the Meh, and my criteria for judgment, send me a line at frederick_key AT yahoo.com and let me know where you'd put the gang of 43. Maybe we can start the support group together.)