The State of the Union is a tasteless, classless spectacle. It must go.
Preview:
One needn’t be a hidebound traditionalist to appreciate the value of our national civic ceremonies, those uplifting occasions when Americans pause even briefly to be reminded of our shared citizenship and our fortune to live in a government subject to the people’s consent. The wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Memorial Day; public naturalization proceedings, when we welcome new Americans into the national family; state funerals such as those last year for Sen. John McCain and former president George H.W. Bush; the peaceful transition of authority at a presidential inauguration, which not even the occasional subpar speech can fatally depreciate.
Originally published: January 25, 2019
Author: Mitch Daniels
Position: President
Institution: Purdue University
Published by: The Washington Post