My favorite song is "Respect" by Aretha Franklin. And many will tell you, respect is earned. But in some cases, it's a given. Example? The office of the president of the United States of America. You might not like or respect the man, but you've got to respect the office. This is a concept many Americans agree on, even if they disagree ideologically.
Although I'm not that old a broad yet, I am seeing a growing number of Americans disrespect not only the man in the Oval Office, but the office of the president. It seems the older I get, the less respect Americans have for our commander in chief. And I wonder why that is.
[See editorial cartoons about the Secret Service scandal.]
One possibility is we as a nation do not hold persons who are disrespectful toward a president accountable for their actions.
This week alone we have seen two examples of great disrespect for our president and the office he holds. And where is the outrage?
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Secret Service agents allegedly being "serviced' by prostitutes: On a flight from New York to Los Angeles, I recently read a story by a former Secret Service agent for the late President John F. Kennedy. He never forgave himself for being close to the president, yet not close enough to stop the shooting of the president (to take a bullet for him) when JFK was shot in Dallas. Still, to this day, it haunts him. He respected both the president and the first lady. He took his job seriously, and his job was to protect the president. He not only respected the man and the office, he respected his own position, his duty, and his country. The recent reported behavior by the 11 Secret Service agents makes me wonder, if they could be so disrespectful to those women, to another country, and to our own country and the positions they hold, how could they protect our president? And what disrespect to that man, the office, and our country. How times have changed.
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Ted Nugent and his violent rhetoric: At a recent National Rifle Association convention, these words were uttered by Ted Nugent: "I'll tell you this right now: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." And: "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November. Any questions?" And further, Nugent warned listeners that if they did not "get everybody in your lives to clean house in this vile, evil, America-hating administration, I don't even know what you're made out of." He added: "If the coyote's in your living room, pissing on your couch, it's not the coyote's fault. It's your fault for not shooting him." He also denounced the administration as "criminals" and said a Democratic victory in November would mean "we'll be a suburb of Indonesia next year"—an apparent reference to President Obama's boyhood time there.
[Vote: Should Mitt Romney Denounce Ted Nugent?]
Now the Secret Service is speaking to him about "what he meant" when he said he would be dead or in jail; I'm more concerned with what he meant when he said he wanted the National Rifle Association members to "chop their heads off in November."
Some will say this is just Nugent being a loudmouth, he isn't really threatening the president. Perhaps that is true, but what about the idiot who will follow Nugent's words and make a true threat or attempt to carry out such violent rhetoric? Have we learned nothing from the shooting of Rep. Gabby Giffords?! When will the use of such language stop?! And the disrespect!
Why is it OK to speak so disrespectfully about a Democratic president, but if the same were said about a Republican, it would be consider unpatriotic or perhaps even treason?
[See pictures of Tucson Shooting Anniversary Vigil]
Although I might anger many of you with what I'm about to write, I truly, truly believe it in my heart. I feel that the Secret Service and Ted Nugent, consciously or otherwise, feel it is OK to disrespect the president because of his skin color.
No other president's birth right has been questioned. No other president has been portrayed as a monkey on a porch, mimicking a terrible, terrible racial slur. No other president has been portrayed physically on a billboard as Hitler—more than once. Shall I go on?
The bottom line? Threatening anyone's life is wrong, whether Democrat or Republican, and especially our commander in chief. Respect the office. Hold those accountable who use such violent rhetoric; they do it because we don't' stop them. And if you disagree with someone, don't threaten to shoot them. I disagree with my husband all the time, and he is very, very much alive.
- See a collection of political cartoons on the Secret Service scandal.
- Check out U.S. News Weekly: an insider's guide to politics and policy.
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Reader Comments Read all comments (81)
Sherry Waller of TX 6:21PM June 27, 2012
K of AR 12:39AM April 22, 2012
matt of OR 9:46PM April 21, 2012