do the right thing.
Nov. 7th, 2008 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
intertribalI'm not going to be joining the group "Respect Our President". I'm not going to be joining in the chorus of Democrats patting Republicans on the head for saying they'll respect Obama even if they didn't vote for him, because he's still their president no matter what.
Because that would make me the biggest hypocrite ever.
I clearly and blatantly did not respect Bush from the beginning to the end of that whole wretched affair. I still don't, though I pity him now. I just don't buy that sort of reinforcement of an already blatant hierarchy. I don't expect my friend Christina to respect Obama, just like she didn't expect me to respect Bush. We are still friends. I remember my Mormon friend telling me that I had to respect Bush because he was the President - no other reason, just He is Higher Than Thou. We are not friends anymore (for various reasons). She didn't put it in these terms, but I imagine she'd agree with the Facebook group "Respect Our President"'s tenets:
The president of the United States should be treated with respect for the following reasons:
1) Whether we like him or not, he was selected by the majority of our peers. Their opinions matter and should be regarded as important.
2) Whether we like him or not, he is the most powerful person in the world. That power must be acknowledged.
3) Whether we like him or not, he is uniquely positioned to do great good.
4) Whether we like him or not, he is the caretaker of our country. It benefits us all if he is successful.
5) Whether we like him or not, he is our ambassador to the world. It speaks well of us to the rest of the world if we esteem the leader we chose.
6) Whether we like him or not, treating him with dignity and honor nurtures a national environment of harmony and, when appropriate, respectful disagreement. Conversely, despising and deriding the president compromises our ability to engage in honest discussion for the greater good and causes us to deteriorate into a nation that is easily manipulated by the powerful. It may seem like a stretch, but I'm convinced that respecting our president lessens the influence of the often inflammatory and manipulative media.
7) Whether we like him or not, respecting our president sets a precedent of respect between us all.
8) Whether we like him or not, it is in our religious DNA to honor the president. Christians especially engage in willful sin when they curse, dishonor, and slander the president. For people of many religious persuasions it is morally right and even a command of God to show right respect to the president.
My reaction:
1) Okay. Maybe. Although thinking about that just makes me disrespect my peers. Besides, this was not true of Bush in 2000. And no, I will never get over it. If Bush goes on to campaign to save whales, make an Oscar-winning documentary, and get a Nobel peace prize, I'll happily get over it.
2) Ha ha ha. Okay. Respect the Power!
3) And until he does, why should I respect him?
4) There is something wrong with the second sentence.
5) Actually, I think knowing that not all Americans supported Bush saved some American lives in the past eight years. Most countries don't judge the blind patriotism of other countries anyway.
6) BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. I personally disagree. It's not like I'm having a conversation with Bush.
7) Respect, hierarchy, fascism, whatever.
8) WHOA THAR.
Also, I like the use of "he" in those little 8 Commandments. I'm surprised it's not "He".
Because that would make me the biggest hypocrite ever.
I clearly and blatantly did not respect Bush from the beginning to the end of that whole wretched affair. I still don't, though I pity him now. I just don't buy that sort of reinforcement of an already blatant hierarchy. I don't expect my friend Christina to respect Obama, just like she didn't expect me to respect Bush. We are still friends. I remember my Mormon friend telling me that I had to respect Bush because he was the President - no other reason, just He is Higher Than Thou. We are not friends anymore (for various reasons). She didn't put it in these terms, but I imagine she'd agree with the Facebook group "Respect Our President"'s tenets:
The president of the United States should be treated with respect for the following reasons:
1) Whether we like him or not, he was selected by the majority of our peers. Their opinions matter and should be regarded as important.
2) Whether we like him or not, he is the most powerful person in the world. That power must be acknowledged.
3) Whether we like him or not, he is uniquely positioned to do great good.
4) Whether we like him or not, he is the caretaker of our country. It benefits us all if he is successful.
5) Whether we like him or not, he is our ambassador to the world. It speaks well of us to the rest of the world if we esteem the leader we chose.
6) Whether we like him or not, treating him with dignity and honor nurtures a national environment of harmony and, when appropriate, respectful disagreement. Conversely, despising and deriding the president compromises our ability to engage in honest discussion for the greater good and causes us to deteriorate into a nation that is easily manipulated by the powerful. It may seem like a stretch, but I'm convinced that respecting our president lessens the influence of the often inflammatory and manipulative media.
7) Whether we like him or not, respecting our president sets a precedent of respect between us all.
8) Whether we like him or not, it is in our religious DNA to honor the president. Christians especially engage in willful sin when they curse, dishonor, and slander the president. For people of many religious persuasions it is morally right and even a command of God to show right respect to the president.
My reaction:
1) Okay. Maybe. Although thinking about that just makes me disrespect my peers. Besides, this was not true of Bush in 2000. And no, I will never get over it. If Bush goes on to campaign to save whales, make an Oscar-winning documentary, and get a Nobel peace prize, I'll happily get over it.
2) Ha ha ha. Okay. Respect the Power!
3) And until he does, why should I respect him?
4) There is something wrong with the second sentence.
5) Actually, I think knowing that not all Americans supported Bush saved some American lives in the past eight years. Most countries don't judge the blind patriotism of other countries anyway.
6) BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. I personally disagree. It's not like I'm having a conversation with Bush.
7) Respect, hierarchy, fascism, whatever.
8) WHOA THAR.
Also, I like the use of "he" in those little 8 Commandments. I'm surprised it's not "He".
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no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 07:50 am (UTC)i actually have issues with the whole majority thing. it troubles me. i don't know how to resolve it.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 02:30 pm (UTC)tyranny of the majority?
no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 09:51 pm (UTC)i could go for respecting people as fellow human beings or something, though.
yeah, tyranny of the majority...
no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 09:58 pm (UTC)Don't you know that the founding fathers have accounted for tyranny of the majority? It's called the Bill of Rights!!! jk.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 10:47 am (UTC)