illustration by Patti Waltz © 2026
There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily.
George Washington
George Washington's Warning
by Patti Waltz
The dawn of American democracy began with the first peaceful transfer of presidential power. George Washington’s Farewell Address was a public letter to the American people published on September 19, 1796. His parting advice is a timeless document meant to inspire citizens to cherish and protect our constitutional democracy for generations to come. In the heart of Washington’s address he lays out dire warnings about how democracies fall. Washington warns that the “worst enemy” of democracy is “the baneful effects of the spirit of party” and “the spirit of revenge.” He cautions, that if we are not vigilant, “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” George Washington continues:
The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.
We are in the midst of George Washington’s warning. Our Founding Fathers denounced demagogues. We must beware of blind allegiance and be skeptical of those who abuse power to divide us. The Constitution rose out of the Age of Reason. Our democracy depends on an informed citizenry armed with facts. The rule of law is the bedrock of our Republic. Without truth democracies fall. It should be no surprise that sowing seeds of distrust in our democratic institutions and our fellow Americans is directly related to the backsliding of American democracy. George Washington’s Farewell Address speaks to this moment and deserves some honest reflection. Our unity is the main prop of our liberty. We are more similar than dissimilar, we are stronger together than apart.
The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party
are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.
George Washington’s Farewell Address