What Has the President Done for me? Paul’s Top Five [PHOTOS]

On this Presidents Day I am putting aside all the things I haven't liked about our Commanders-in-Chief, and instead focusing on what I have liked. Here is a list of the Top 5 Contributions U.S. Presidents have helped bring to our lives. Even if they weren't the key mover in some of these efforts, without past Presidents these things would not have been conceived or preserved.

5. Taxation with Representation

Hey, say what you will about your tax rate. At least you have a rep assigned specifically to the place you live who has the possibility to represent you inside our government. In fact, on a national level you have two people--your Congressperson and your Senator. This was a central issue in the American Revolution. We can thank numerous Presidents for this; namely, Washington, Jefferson, and Adams.

4. Checks and Balances

Our earliest presidents opened themselves to questioning the way no world leaders had ever before. "What? A branch of government that watches the other? The Courts watch the President, the President watches the People's Representatives, and the People's Representatives watch the Courts? No!" said the King. But George Washington said yes, and put another key to American Liberty in place.

3.Secret Ballot

When people say that we are a 'country divided' along party lines, they are right, and that was the way it was designed. We aren't the first nation to argue about the way things should be done, but we are the first to attempt to direct that inevitable discussion into an effective and hopefully fair voting system. This way, when power is assumed it can't be turned to bullying and nepotism. When that ballot door closes, I can do whatever I want!

2. Majority Rule

Sounds simple enough, no? Well, until 1776, nobody in the West was doing it.

1. Freedom of Speech

Always the keystone. There's a reason it comes first. So George Washington knew that a measly colonist could call him a wood toothed knucklebrain, and he had to take it. You know what happened when you called the King a wood toothed knucklebrain back in the days before the Enlightenment? Well, I'd recommend using any time machine you may find to explore something else because it probably won't be pretty!