Whenever I hear people talking blithely about their respect for the Office of the President and the part that that respect plays in their attendance at or watching of the inauguration to end all inaugurations, I want to cuss, loud and long.
Help me to understand what this "respect for the office (of the president)" is. And after you've explained what it is, please tell me where it's been since January 20, 2009 cuz I'm pretty sure I ain't seen it in a while.
To my mind, if you're respecting the office you also should be, at the very least, respectful of the office holder. This was not the case during the Obama years so I'm beginning to wonder whether respect rights only accrue if the office holder is Republican because for the last eight years, respect surely has been in very short supply.
And no, I am not saying that you can't challenge the office holder's thinking; his/her policy prescriptions; his/her comportment in the office if his/her behavior is egregious, but you sure as hell don't write a letter to an enemy state asking them to refuse a deal (and dancing damn close to breaking the law) deliberately and publicly undermining my guy and then later demand that I respect yours. Nuh uh. That ain't gonna work.
Is it "respectful of the office" to set on a course to deny people access to the polls (through which that office is obtained) on arbitrary or racially motivated grounds? Y'all been doing that for generations and yet now you want to tell me about respect? Remember North Carolina's Supreme Court voter ID decision?
Is it "respectful of the office" to gerrymander the hell out of districts, thereby making one side's victory assured irrespective of voters' wishes? Hell, that ain't even respectful of fair play, but now you want to tell me about respecting the office of the president? Nah.
What part of meeting on Inauguration Night to collude (yeah, I said 'collude') to frustrate every good faith effort at working across the aisle, can we describe as "respect for the office"?
What part of rejecting a health insurance purchase mandate (which was an idea that came out of your own people at the conservative Heritage Foundation), translates to "respect for the office"? You reject your own idea to make a point about rejecting the president. Oh yeah, that sounds like R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Your guy (45) questioned the president's place of birth - steadily, loudly and mendaciously - for 90% of his presidency, but now you want my "respect for the office"? Yeah, y'all can kiss my entire Black arse with that respect talk.
You demand "respect for the office" but you never respectfully allowed the outgoing president to perform the job the way he/she believed was best. You were free to argue or disagree, and you did. You were free to mount a vigorous debate against the officeholder's policies, and you did. But you lied, lied, lied and lied some more to sell your snake oils to the unsuspecting, ignorant masses. Claiming to "respect the office" while behaving in the ways in which certain groups have behaved these last 8 years, is anything but "respect" for either the office or the officeholder. Such "respect" is but an empty veneration of the title. Empty. Entirely devoid of meaning.
Frankly, I'm of the view that all the current calls for respect are a neat way of saying, "Respect us never mind how we disrespected you! That's all in the past". Well I, for one, am not here for it.
Respect is far more than just using the word in a sentence. Respect is a series of actions and little to nothing that has occurred in the last 8 years bespeaks respect, IMHO, so don't be expecting my respect any day soon. Respect is earned and your broke behinds ain't have a clue how to start earning.
In the meantime, 'respect'? For this guy?
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| DJT tweet, on MLK weekend no less |
Miss me with that BS. Please.
2 comments:
First of all, yes, there has been too much disrespect in the last four years and it is appalling and egregious. It is a huge reason that I kissed the Republican party goodbye. But does that give those who have been disrespected license to mirror that disrespect? I don't think so. Their bad behavior reflects poorly on them, but if I behave badly, it reflects badly on me. For me, respecting the office means not letting anyone denigrate it, either by actions or words, not even the acting President. So a President using Twitter to attack people is denigrating the office because the President should respect and represent the people who disagree with him. It means condemning Presidential behavior that denigrates the office without devolving into name-calling. It means holding the President accountable without caricaturization or demonization or mockery. Respect is not the same as approval or maybe even acceptance. Love and respect are what God demonstrates to each person, even in the middle of their worst moments, even if He is in the middle of disciplining us because of our behavior. And yet, it is something with which I struggle to maintain and am guilty of failing to show it. God help me. And may God guide us through this next four years and show us how to be respectful to someone who honestly doesn't deserve it. Love and Hugs!
I hear you and I respectfully disagree. That's the kind of thinking that kept and keeps oppressed voices oppressed. Don't fight back. Turn the other cheek. Kill them with kindness. No, no, no and no again.
What does my disrespect say about me? It says that I will not give you what you have not earned.
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