Published in the March 5- 18, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Marty Cheek

Marty Cheek

Marty Cheek

Groupon goofed. Last month, the Chicago-based website company that provides online discount coupons started a marketing campaign celebrating Presidents Day by providing customers with $10 off $40 spent on a deal for local businesses. The weekend-only special showed a $10 bill with Alexander Hamilton on it to, as the promotion put it, “honor our money-minded Commander-In-Chief.”

Groupon went on to proclaim:”The $10 bill, as everyone knows, features President Alexander Hamilton — undeniably one of our greatest presidents and most widely recognized for establishing the country’s financial system.”

Good idea, Groupon. The problem: Alexander Hamilton was never a U.S. President.

Groupon later said the error was intentional, a publicity stunt. I don’t believe that. It’s human nature when we’re caught saying something stupid to try to save face and proclaim, “I was only joking.” Another reason I think it was not an intended faux pas is that a majority of people of our nation possess a dismal knowledge of basic U.S. history. A U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics study found that less than one-quarter of students are proficient in U.S. history.

Groupon’s explanation really puts into question its reputation as a company. Its marketing tactic cheapens American history. There is already too much inaccurate information about our nation’s backstory without a company intentionally generating more for an already woefully ignorant American public.

The Hamilton-Groupon story got me thinking about whether or not we really need Presidents Day. Many people get the day off and students enjoy a week away from school thanks to the fact that presidents Washington and Lincoln had the courtesy to be born in February. Few Americans really take time to ponder the presidency on this national holiday. No doubt, most Americans would rather go to the mall to trade pieces of paper with the two presidents on them for consumer items.

Think of the irony of Americans creating Presidents Day, a holiday venerating the 43 men who have held the chief executive office in America. Considering the cause he put his life on the line for during the American Revolution, Washington particularly would find the holiday distasteful. We are a nation founded on the idea of getting rid of venerating a national leader — the British king.

I have a passion for U.S. history, so it bothers me how ignorant we Americans can be about understanding how the past shapes the present. I believe in the spaghetti-western style of learning American history — the best lessons and discussions focus on the good, the bad and the ugly aspects about our nation’s past.

Too often, Americans want to whitewash what we’ve done, recasting the facts in a false light — or even denying the darker side of our nation’s story. I’ve had heated discussions with people who say that the American government never put its own citizens behind barbed wire fences in desolate internment camps during World War II. There are Japanese-American residents in the South Valley who would tell them the tale of that terrible injustice and how their family’s lives and livelihoods were devastated.

We can’t abolish Presidents Day. Its a holiday tradition too ingrained in our national psyche — and entrenched in the sales marketing machine of America. But in the spirit of marketing rebranding, I’d like to propose the radical concept that we can re-invent Presidents Day. In an effort to broaden the benefits of this holiday, I suggest we convert it into American History Day. I propose we turn it from a day honoring a few dozen commanders-in-chief, most of whom most people know nothing about, into a public celebration of America’s story.

There are so many fascinating characters in our national narrative, so many men and women who stand out in the building of our republic. It’s not fair to just focus on the presidents — many of whom were not stellar leaders (I’m looking at you, Millard Fillmore) — when the pantheon of great leaders is so immense for our nation. On American History Day, students in schools can discuss and write essays about their favorite U.S. hero, whether it be in the fields of government, science, adventure or business. Much more interesting would be their discussion during American History Day of our “villains,” the people who went against our traditional values (I’m looking at you, Sen. Joseph McCarthy).

I doubt anyone will take my American History Day holiday switchover seriously enough to approach Congress with the idea of a reboot. Presidents Day is too much a tradition. But if my wild and crazy idea gets people starting to think about the story of how we came to be the people we are as a nation, I’d be satisfied with that.

It’s time to stop discounting history. (I’m looking at you, Groupon.)