Yup. A cult of personality is what Washington would have called it, and he wanted nothing to do with it. People wanted him to be POTUS for life; he shut that door hard and loud. Others wanted his face on the first coins the new Mint would strike; he told them that too was a bad precedent to set.

We’ve lost that. We worship people when we should be worshiping ideals. We value the wealthy more than we value the intelligent. We value the soundbite more than we value intelligent discourse.

No one should have any heroes. All of us have feet of clay.