George Washington's advice for Washington, D.C.

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The largest amount of buried treasure discovered in American history is known as the Saddle Ridge hoard, unearthed in the Gold Country of the Sierra Nevada in California.

In February 2013, a couple was walking their dog on their property when they noticed a partially rusted can sticking out of the ground. As they pulled it out, it felt particularly heavy, like it was solid iron. Much to their surprise, it was full of old gold coins. Can you imagine?

As you would expect, the couple thought if there was one can, there might be another. They dug up another seven cans full of gold throughout their Saddle Ridge property. Most of the coins were $20 gold pieces minted in San Francisco somewhere between 1847 and 1894 (the Gold Rush), but some were minted earlier in Georgia.

So, what does one do with eight cans of old gold coins? Initially, the couple hid them just like their original owner. They placed the cans in an old ice chest, then buried it under a pile of wood on their property.

The Saddle Ridge treasure trove has a total of 1,427 gold coins with a face value of $27,980. But their actual value is estimated at a whopping $10 million dollars plus.

Who buried those eight cans of gold on their property? No one can figure that out, though there are several great theories. The secret origin of the largest buried treasure find in America remains a mystery to this day.

One website hypothesized of the treasure's origins, giving various guesses then concluding: "The most likely explanation might be that the coins were put there by a wealthy, probably slightly unhinged, person who lived on the property and simply didn't trust banks to keep their money safe. So instead, they buried their money somewhere on their property and died before they could tell anyone where it was."

Isn't that just like what many Americans still do today with what they treasure most? They keep it to themselves and "bury" it without telling a soul. But I'm talking about real treasures like faith, family and freedom. Let me explain.

As I watched the explosive news and political rancor about impeachment ensuing in Washington, D.C. this week, I thought: 

Is anyone thinking about the younger generations watching this charade, passing by broadcasts of mainstream media and hearing the panic, despair and deepening divisions in America?

Consider how millions of youth recently marched in protests around the world as they cried out in total desperation for environmental help and justice because they've been utterly convinced that the end of the world was imminent because of global warming. 

Is it? Who's teaching them the end is so near that it's causing them to panic and literally cry?

The Los Angeles Times explained: 

"Underneath the activism lies a simple truth: Young people are incredibly scared about climate change." Psychologists reported in Newsweek that more and more kids are suffering from "eco-anxiety." The liberal New York Times took it one step further, reporting that "Climate change is scarring kids."

Despite what side of the debate you land on, is anxiety, panic and hopelessness really the desired outcome that educators and far-left politicians want to produce in younger generations? (The praise for the global marches by mainstream media, progressives and socialists showed me the far-left are more concerned with using these young people for their own political agendas than they are in giving them a chance to learn in school, and not suffering extreme fear or eco-anxiety.)

And what effect now do we expect the frenzy and chaos of a presidential impeachment will have upon younger generations? 

Having lived through three years of watching mainstream media and liberal Democrats prey and pounce upon the president for allegedly colluding with Russia in the 2016 American election, kids now get to observe another three-ring circus about his alleged colluding with the Ukraine over the upcoming 2020 election. 

Where does this madness end? And what about its effects upon younger generations? If they already believe the environmental Apocalypse is imminent, are we now going to deliver to their hearts the hopeless message that their country's capital is so divided it will implode and collapse?

Are we really surprised by young people's panic and hopelessness today? 

A recent study also showed that "Loneliness is surging among Millennials." The most technologically advanced generation with a plethora of social media, and yet loneliness surges?

According to internet market research firm YouGov, "The social media generation is the one that feels the most alone." 

Their latest report details a surge in feelings of loneliness among the Millennial generation currently between the ages of 23 and 38.

If we ever need a return to optimism and hope, and our society to decency and civility, it is now; and we don't need a new president to do that. 

We need to relearn and follow the wisdom of leaders like our first president, George Washington, in his presidential farewell address. 

I'd like to unearth this documentary treasure, unknown I'd expect to most Americans, as a buried national treasure that can lead our country and posterity to a better and more civilized united future.

As OurDocuments.gov explains, "In the 32-page handwritten address, Washington urged Americans to avoid excessive political party spirit and geographical distinctions. 

In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances with other nations. The address was printed in Philadelphia's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796."

Dr. Gordon L. Anderson (Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University), the president of Paragon House and author of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," penned an excellent summary of our nation's first president's speech, titling it: 

"20 Unheeded Warnings in Washington's Farewell Address." Here they are:

1. Be vigilant. People will seek to use the government for selfish ends.
2. Avoid overgrown military establishments; they are hostile to liberty.
3. Prevent all obstructions to the execution of the laws.
4. Control bureaucracies; make sure they all work together.
5. Avoid political parties; they will cause divisive factions and unscrupulous men will use them to undermine the government.
6. Give allegiance to the Constitution; improve it as necessary.
7. Do not alter the Constitution lightly, or based on hypothesis; apply the experience applied when it was created.
8. Be suspicious of administrators; they may serve themselves rather than the people.
9. Watch for consolidation of power in any department of government.
10. Preserve existing checks and balances and add more where power needs to be checked.
11. Religion and morality are essential to create the virtue necessary to preserve the union.
12. Promote widespread education; democracy requires literate citizens that understand the system of governance and take responsibility for themselves.
13. Avoid debt; and immediately discharge any debt created by war.
14. Taxes are unpleasant; government spending should be candidly conducted.
15. Cultivate peace and justice toward all nations.
16. Avoid alliances and maintain neutrality among nations.
17. Avoid dependency; a weak state that allies with a stronger state will become its servant.
18. Real patriots will resist intrigues, while dupes will surrender to interests.
19. In trade, give no nation a favored nation status.
20. Be guided by principles, not interests.

I would encourage you to read them one more time, and even slower, further pondering their meaning.

Regarding America's return to civility in particular, did you notice #11? "Religion and morality are essential to create the virtue necessary to preserve the union"?

Look at these amazing words from our first Commander-in-Chief's farewell address as he admonished us:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.

What Washington was basically saying is, if we've got God, we've got the gold and what we need to establish and maintain civility, decency and morality, because God serves as a basis for moral and civil absolutes. 

God also commands us to love everyone – even our enemies, and instill hope and value in everyone – including ourselves – from the cradle to the grave.

https://www.wnd.com/2019/09/george-washingtons-advice-washington-d-c/