At the pinnacle of the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge one can get an impressive view of Washington, DC.
There a placard bears an interesting story.
George Washington had the plans drawn up for a Federal city that would be separate from the states as called for in the Constitution. The area that would later become the "District of Columbia", was a 10 - mile by 10 - mile square on the Potomac, taking land both from Virginia and from Maryland.
The city of Alexandria bordered the land on the Virginia side, Georgetown on the Maryland side.
Because George Washington hailed from Virginia and owned property very near to the new District, he did not want to do anything that would profit himself - or even give the appearance of impropriety. So the new President decreed that none of the federal buildings would be built on the Virginia side of the Potomac - only on the Maryland side.
Thus, Alexandria missed the economic boom that would later flood the region.
Washington was displaying one of those "Great America!" traits - restraint. I suspect that I won't be able to fully explore this subject in one post, so you may see it again sometime.
It was restraint that caused Washington to deny an offer of monarchy; and again later, it was restraint that caused him to set the standard of only serving two terms as President.... a standard that has stood for centuries with only one exception.
In the many wars this nation has faced and won - it is that same spirit of restraint that has caused this nation to immediately show mercy to the vanquished foe.
It is why the founders installed three branches of government and a series of checks and balances that would hold each one back from becoming too powerful.
Even as late as Gulf War I, Bush 41 showed restraint when General Schwarzkopf told him that he could march right on in to Baghdad and unseat Saddam Hussein - George H.W. Bush said "no".
It is why Americans can practice the freedom of assembly without getting out of hand; restraint keeps them within the limits of the law.
It is why a neighbor mows his lawn right up to the property line - careful not to usurp anything that belongs to his neighbor.
When offered a piece of cake, we teach our children not to grab the whole thing - that's restraint or self-control.
The Bible would call it Temperance and describe it as a natural outgrowth of the Spirit of Christ dwelling within a person.
I'm afraid restraint has fallen out of vogue in recent years. We see little focus and little promotion of the man or woman who follows the rules - and practices ruling well their own appetites. In our entertainment industry, even the "good guys" display little self-control. Athletes declare that they "don't wanna be no role model!" and so they destroy their lives with excess.
I long for a return to restraint.
I long to see those in "power", once again restrain themselves from abusing that power.
The accolades don't fall quickly on those that practice restraint - sometimes it may be generations later before the impact of their character really takes effect.
I think those accolades are the best kind though. When people who have little understanding of one's culture and dress and hairstyle and technology (or lack thereof) can still recognize the goodness that was displayed ...
...and learn from it...
...and be inspired by it ...
...and quickly teach what they have learned to their children ...
... and then continue across the bridge to live their lives differently on the other side.
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