At 7:10 a.m. on the morning of June 5, 1967, the first squadrons of Israel’s fighter jets take off for a preemptive strike on Egypt, a move they are cornered into making. All but 12 of their fleet of outdated French planes head west for the Mediterranean, then turn sharply south, diving low to fly 500 miles per hour 60 feet above the waves to avoid radar detection.

May 14 is the 70th anniversary of the date Israel became an independent country. It had sufficient international support to do that, over violent opposition from surrounding Muslims, because of the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews during World War II. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the opening of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum just off the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Kim Henderson visited it recently.

Each year, millions of pilgrims descend upon Israel with hopes and expectations: a sign from God, an answered prayer, or a spiritual awakening after walking the path God incarnate once walked.

Or a World Cup win.

Fifty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., his family, colleagues, and those affected by his legacy are gathering at events across the country to remember him, particularly in Memphis, Tenn., where King was gunned down April 4, 1968, on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel. King, who was 39, was in Memphis to protest the low pay and poor working conditions of the city’s sanitation workers. On Wednesday, the union he supported led a march in his memory. Other events in the city feature the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, and U.S. Rep.

A New York moment:

Visiting some of the tech startups here in “Silicon Alley” (I’m proud of learning that term recently, even though it’s been around for years), you’ll see offices providing free cold brew coffee on tap, free meals, and free yoga classes. Last year I attended Google’s barnburning annual party for its New York employees, involving free shrimp, elaborate sets, confetti cannons, and live bands.

I’ve asked the same question in this space half a dozen different ways—but here it is again: If, by merely snapping your fingers or waving a magic wand, you could take the society and culture you live in today back to some earlier point, what date would you choose? If you could rewind the video recorder we call “America’s History” and be awarded a second chance, what would you pick as your new starting point?

Or, to put it more succinctly—and more bluntly—where did we go so wrong?

Three Februarys ago we published the chapter on George Washington from Marvin Olasky’s The American Leadership Tradition, originally released in 1999 and now out of print. Here, in honor of the upcoming Presidents Day, is a shortened, updated version of Marvin’s chapter on Abraham Lincoln. —Mickey McLean