Over the past few years there’s been a good deal of discussion about the need for more civics education in schools and colleges. Many people believe that Americans are confused about and ignorant of traditional notions of patriotism, civic virtue and American values. I agree with this. These words are used all the time, but, often, they are used for partisan political purposes and their meanings twisted.

I believe that the American system of government, even with its many flaws, is still the best form of government the world has known. I also believe that patriotism, civic virtue and American values, when understood properly, are meaningful and important.

All Americans should be proud of being American. There is something very special about the United States. For more than 200 years our nation has stood as a bulwark of liberty in the world. That is why I think everybody needs to understand and believe in these ideas.

I have been thinking about this, in particular, because this week marked the birthday of one of the greatest American patriots who ever lived: Abraham Lincoln. Next week will mark the birthday of another great American and another of the true founders of our nation: George Washington. Both of them were complex individuals with a complex understanding of what it is that makes the United States so special.

Washington was a reluctant general and an even more reluctant president, a man who refused a crown and who gave birth to a nation. Certainly, he was not perfect; he was a man who accepted the evil of slavery. Lincoln, who gave his life to end slavery in the United States, was a country lawyer who was willing to split this nation apart to end the evil of slavery and achieve true liberty. He, too, was a great patriot. Both men were great patriots because of their unwillingness to accept the status quo and they were willing to give their lives to make their vision of a nation “conceived in liberty” a reality. Both loved their country more than themselves.

I think that every American needs to think about Washington and Lincoln in these troubled times of ours. I think that each of us must attempt to understand how these very human and imperfect men were willing to sacrifice so much for their vision of our nation. We have a great deal to learn from their lives and their examples.

It is a great pity, I think, that today we no longer separately celebrate Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays. On their birthdays flags are no longer displayed; schools no longer put on plays about their lives. Students too rarely study their lives and writings. And, yet, these men were living embodiments of what we prize as a nation.

Thus, I have a suggestion for those who believe that there is a need for a renaissance of American patriotism and a revival of civic virtue. Let us restore the celebrations for Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays. Let us use those celebrations as a means of retelling their stories and of studying their lives. Let us use their birthdays as opportunities to focus on two ordinary men who led extraordinary lives and who gave true meaning to the idea of patriotism. If more of us can emulate the good qualities in Washington and Lincoln, forgive their failings, and aspire to follow in their paths then, truly, there will be a new, true American spirit in the land. All it will take to begin this process is a simple legislative act to restore these holidays and the public will to make of them something more than just a day off from work.