News Just a little respect for the President

[nismaratwork]

Back in my dad's day, it wasn't just "the few" though. Lots of kids, young people, and middle-aged people laid it all on the line to stop fascism. The contributions of males of that time are widely recognized (if not rewarded), but we should remember the contributions of many thousands of women who served in support and con-combat positions, too. The mother of some of my dearest classmates was an officer in the Navy during WWII - the first-generation daughter of Lebanese immigrants.

Yeah, my grandfather was a Naval officer in the pacific theater, but you know, from the stories I heard from him, it changed him too. The difference is that people who were maimed didn't often survive, and mental scars are harder to detect, especially then. I'm not sure it was better then, and our armed forces are better trained now... we just need the public to appreciate that whether or not they support a given war, veterans didn't make that choice. Soldiers follow lawful orders, and if you can't respect that, at least support them when they're hurt just as fellow human beings.

Who knows... maybe without a feeling of victory or imminent threat it's hard to get more than yellow ribbons on cars moving.

 

[Dennis_Murphy]

No. We're an indirectly federated republic, which means we the people depend on our representatives to fight for OUR interests, not their own jobs and personal agendas.

Each elected person is chosen by the people for who they think will best fight for their interests. It's their fault for re-electing the same dirty/corrupt/self immersed/ignorant people over and over again.

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In any case I believe the topic of the discussion is supposed to be about showing Respect for our President, which we should have (and show) regardless if we are in the military or a civilian. We should respect Obama, just as we would have respected any other president that is elected into office. That said there is also unnecessarily slanderous remarks about George Bush. Regardless if we like him. Regardless if we agree with him. We should still respect him. He was our President, our leader, not common garbage like how some refer to him as. The bathroom message was unnecessary and condemnable.

 

[nismaratwork]

Each elected person is chosen by the people for who they think will best fight for their interests. It's their fault for re-electing the same dirty/corrupt/self immersed/ignorant people over and over again.

I never said that it wasn't, although I think you're oversimplifying the issue more than a little. It still doesn't change what I said, or why.
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In any case I believe the topic of the discussion is supposed to be about showing Respect for our President, which we should have (and show) regardless if we are in the military or a civilian. We should respect Obama, just as we would have respected any other president that is elected into office. That said there is also unnecessarily slanderous remarks about George Bush. Regardless if we like him. Regardless if we agree with him. We should still respect him. He was our President, our leader, not common garbage like how some refer to him as. The bathroom message was unnecessary and condemnable.

I agree that respect should be the decorum, if not the heartfelt belief. You can't make people respect someone, but you can respect the office and not the man, and even then place the man in the proper context; whatever Obama is or is not, he's not common garbage or anything like it. Calling Richard Nixon a liar wasn't disrespect, it was a fact, but calling him trash would be. Calling W. a disaster for the country isn't disrespect, but saying that he was retarded would be. When we cross from criticism to insults, that is when we're ****ing up, civilian or military as you say.

 

[lisab]

Each elected person is chosen by the people for who they think will best fight for their interests. It's their fault for re-electing the same dirty/corrupt/self immersed/ignorant people over and over again.

-----

In any case I believe the topic of the discussion is supposed to be about showing Respect for our President, which we should have (and show) regardless if we are in the military or a civilian. We should respect Obama, just as we would have respected any other president that is elected into office. That said there is also unnecessarily slanderous remarks about George Bush. Regardless if we like him. Regardless if we agree with him. We should still respect him. He was our President, our leader, not common garbage like how some refer to him as. The bathroom message was unnecessary and condemnable.

That sounds like something John Wayne (who was Republican) said about John Kennedy winning the election, "I didn't vote for him but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job."

Moderate sentiments from 50 years ago seem so reasonable and refreshing.

 

[Gokul43201]

More insight from Newt Gingrich:

"What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]?" Gingrich asked in an interview with the National Review Online, Web site of the prominent conservative magazine. "That is the most accurate, predictive model for his behavior."

"This is a person who is fundamentally out of touch with how the world works, who happened to have played a wonderful con, as a result of which he is now president," added Gingrich, who is considering running for president in 2012.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129851689

 

[OmCheeto]

More insight from Newt Gingrich:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129851689

Speaking of Newt, and the disrespect about to be heaped upon our next president.(Hopefully a Republican this time. ) What's the deal with this:

Fox News has almost every Republican presidential candidate for 2012 on its payroll. Are they the Kingmakers?

The fair and balanced network has a little problem, I believe, and one that the media never seem to address. If they are just another news organization and are defended by Howard Kurtz and Jack Tapper as such, then why do they employ almost the entire field of Republican presidential candidates for 2012?

At this point in time the leading candidates are:

Mitt Romney
Mike Huckabee
Sarah Palin
Newt Gingrich

So far Romney isn't on the Fox News dole yet, but how long will it be before he gets his own time slot in some form before 2012 rolls along? Huckabee has his own one hour show on weekends, Sarah Palin juts got hired and is making the rounds on the FNC shows so she can be trained for the future, and Newt is a fixture on the network as the conservative basher-in-chief and thought to be the next Reagan by some of their hosts.

Food for thought.

But back to the topic:

OK I am Disabled Veteran and once a month I have a Paratrooper meeting in Washington DC. This month it was on 9/11.

We stopped at Andrews Airforce base to shop at the BX and eat. I use the bathroom at the BX and someone wrote "Obama's a Liar'.

I am not a fan of Obama, but at a military base? He is still the commander-in-chief, I don't buy that "Hes not my President" b/s that the angry people always say.

I just don't get it. Yeah it is politics, but there is a time and place.

I was watching Bill Clinton on the Daily Show last night, and he said that people were upset about what's going on with the state of affairs of the nation, and rightly so.

As such, people will say mean and nasty things, in a finger pointing kind of way, to relieve their anxiety.

That's all that "Obama's a Liar" scribble was.

And as far as being on a military base? Well... I was in the navy, and we did things our way. We mounted big, um, what the hell do you call those note pads the size of your TV screen? Flip boards? Anyways, we mounted one in each restroom stall so people could scribble away all their twitter thoughts as they did their dirty business. It would be fun, 30 years on, to have one of those sheets and see what mindless posts the 20 year old's were writing back then. Reagan was in office. Yes, it would be fun. But I'm sure it would appear mostly as drivel at this point.

 

[Dennis_Murphy]

I never said that it wasn't, although I think you're oversimplifying the issue more than a little.

I would ask how, if you would be willing to explain?

I agree that respect should be the decorum, if not the heartfelt belief. You can't make people respect someone, but you can respect the office and not the man, and even then place the man in the proper context; whatever Obama is or is not, he's not common garbage or anything like it. Calling Richard Nixon a liar wasn't disrespect, it was a fact, but calling him trash would be. Calling W. a disaster for the country isn't disrespect, but saying that he was retarded would be. When we cross from criticism to insults, that is when we're ****ing up, civilian or military as you say.

It's not just the office that the man is occupying, that's the respect you would give to your boss in the workplace. It's the very will of the people of the United States that he was chosen to lead, that is something that should be respected. Regardless of whether or not you like the man, what he did, or how he behaved in office he was still chosen by the people of the United States of America. Now I am not saying that one has to respect him, just that they should. I respect George W. Bush even now that he's out of office because he was our president. Do I respect his policies? Not so much, but that doesn't influence the respect for the will of people.

 

[nismaratwork]

I would ask how, if you would be willing to explain?



It's not just the office that the man is occupying, that's the respect you would give to your boss in the workplace. It's the very will of the people of the United States that he was chosen to lead, that is something that should be respected. Regardless of whether or not you like the man, what he did, or how he behaved in office he was still chosen by the people of the United States of America. Now I am not saying that one has to respect him, just that they should. I respect George W. Bush even now that he's out of office because he was our president. Do I respect his policies? Not so much, but that doesn't influence the respect for the will of people.

To your first question, which is a fair one, I would say that history shows people can be easily swayed and are not all equally equipped to form their own opinions. I know hardcore right-wingers and left-wingers whom I disagree with vehemently, but who I know had a good education and come by their views, not as a result of endless bombardment by a particular party and billions spent on advertisements, but through deep convictions that I simply do not share.

I've met far more people who can only recite decades old talking points from each party, and who don't have the education or wit to truly examine what's going on. That's just one facet of the issue, ignoring the role of money in campaigning, Gerrymandering, and outright cheating (more in the past than now). Bottom line: you have to be educated, intelligent enough, not completely a product of your particular region, and AWARE of what your best interests are to not make the same mistakes over and over again.

To your second point, I simply disagree. I have to OBEY the boss in the workplace, I don't have to respect him or her. In the same vein, if that boss is supremely good at their job, but is a complete jack***, then I do have to respect their ability, but not their personality. I don't believe in "should" in this situation, beyond respect for the office, and even that I see as a means to an end, which is that civil order and our form of government depends on that. The reason it's so disturbing to see libel on a bathroom wall on an AFB, is that this man is their CIC! He's not my boss, he's my public servant, one who gets a chance to work as that for another four years based on review of his first four. If you're in the military, you took an oath and made the choices to carry out the orders of the CIC, and I don't see how that duty is compatible with calling him a liar.

As a civilian, if you want to chant: "hey hey, L B J, how many boys did you kill today?" that's your right. If you're a soldier, it is NOT your right, but as a vet, it is. Why respect the office then, if not just for practical reasons?... respect for yourself, and your fellow countrymen and women. He's our leader, as you said, and unless he's just one long outrage, then respecting the office is respect for our system of government. I may not like it very much, but there isn't one I'd prefer to have over me, so there's that. I also respect a number of people who believe as you do: the President deserves respect, period, and I like and respect enough of those people that I would never be a coward and write graffiti about him.

Let me be clear, I respect Nixon, even though he was deeply flawed and his behavior in Vietnam was horrendous; he did some good things. I respect Reagan, even though I personally found him to be relatively destructive in a variety of ways. I respect Bush Sr. without particularly liking him, and Clinton even though he apparently had a limited amount of respect for himself. I respect Obama, although I feel he's somewhat ineffective, but I do NOT respect Bush W. ... who's legacy is the death of foreign (to me) civilians, and American (and coalition) soldiers for a lie in Iraq. Forget the economic devastation, in a better world he would have been impeached and hanged along with his cabinet.

I imagine depression era people would feel much the same about Hoover... some people are not respectable, they're idiots or criminals and bring literally nothing to the table. We've had a very few, but to pretend that they deserve the respect a functional president who was elected honestly does, is to me, a kind of disrespect for the office all on its own.

 

[Dennis_Murphy]

I was merely discussing on a matter of principle, of course it is your right to say or do what ever you wish to do. I did not intend to spark a debate. What you say has merit and I respect it whether or not I agree with it. Though I do disagree with hanging George Bush and his Cabinet.

 

[nismaratwork]

I was merely discussing on a matter of principle, of course it is your right to say or do what ever you wish to do. I did not intend to spark a debate. What you say has merit and I respect it whether or not I agree with it. Though I do disagree with hanging George Bush and his Cabinet.

Now, I should be clear, the "hanging" bit was hyperbole... actually so was the impeachment part. I just hate the guy and have no respect for him.. just want to make that clear. I understood what you were saying to be a matter of principle, and one which I have a different take on. I don't see that both of us can't stand on our own principle without a pyrophoric reaction... they're not so different that I don't respect where you stand.

 

[Char. Limit]

they're not so different that I don't respect where you stand.

This line just increased my respect for you by about 100x. I completely agree here, and I wish more people would think this way.

 

[mheslep]

[...]We stopped at Andrews Airforce base to shop at the BX and eat. I use the bathroom at the BX and someone wrote "Obama's a Liar'.

I am not a fan of Obama, but at a military base? He is still the commander-in-chief, I don't buy that "Hes not my President" b/s that the angry people always say.

I just don't get it. Yeah it is politics, but there is a time and place.

[...] and I like and respect enough of those people that I would never be a coward and write graffiti about him.[...]

[...] but I do NOT respect Bush W. ... who's legacy is the death of foreign (to me) civilians, and American (and coalition) soldiers for a lie in Iraq. Forget the economic devastation, in a better world he would have been impeached and hanged along with his cabinet.
[...]
.. some people are not respectable, they're idiots or criminals and bring literally nothing to the table. We've had a very few, but to pretend that they deserve the respect a functional president who was elected honestly does, is to me, a kind of disrespect for the office all on its own. [...]

[highlights mine] Well there you go Airborne - the same kind of rationalization that no doubt resulted in the bathroom wall scrawl. If you want to persuade people to do otherwise here is your chance.

 

[nismaratwork]

[highlights mine] Well there you go Airborne - the same kind of rationalization that no doubt resulted in the bathroom wall scrawl. If you want to persuade people to do otherwise here is your chance.

Let me get this straight, you're saying that because I indulged in what I have called hyperbole in a previous post, you think I would sink to bathroom-graffiti?!

I'll be clear: I'd happily tell 2 former presidents to go to hell (W. and Carter) to their faces, and admit to that here or to anyone in a face-to-face discussion. I am NOT going to disseminate my personal view of the men via bathroom stall, internet blog, or even a protest. Hell, part of my anger is the shame that W. brought to the office during his presidency, and the shame Carter is (not to ignore many good things he's been involved in) AFTER his time in office. I've stated clearly that respect for the office of the president is important to some for symbolic reasons, but is important to ALL for practical reasons, especially in a military setting. I would appreciate it if you don't cherrypick less than a handful of what I've said, ignoring in one case (the bolded one) what I said:

ow, I should be clear, the "hanging" bit was hyperbole... actually so was the impeachment part. I just hate the guy and have no respect for him.. just want to make that clear. I understood what you were saying to be a matter of principle, and one which I have a different take on. I don't see that both of us can't stand on our own principle without a pyrophoric reaction... they're not so different that I don't respect where you stand.

I thought that was quite clear. It's one thing to not respect someone, and another to be libelous or slanderous. For instance, I don't say, "Bush W. wanted oil so he started a war", not in the least because I don't believe it and no proof exists. I don't say that I think Carter is an anti-Semite, just that I violently disagree with his views on Israel. Do you grasp the difference? I could say that I think Obama is an ineffective president, but just the comment "he lies", is pure disrespect. I can't tell if you haven't followed the conversation, or if you're trying to make a point for the hell of it. I've read many of your posts, so I know that failing to grasp something is unlikely, and thus I'm inclined to be insulted by your characterization of my views.

 

[mheslep]

Let me get this straight, you're saying that because I indulged in what I have called hyperbole in a previous post, you think I would sink to bathroom-graffiti?!

I'll be clear: I'd happily tell 2 former presidents to go to hell (W. and Carter) to their faces, and admit to that here or to anyone in a face-to-face discussion. I am NOT going to disseminate my personal view of the men via bathroom stall.

What's the difference? As you know, you don't have the opportunity to talk to either face to face, and this internet discussion board is likewise anonymous, essentially writing on a wall. In any case your answer to the OP's call for respect for a President in general (not Obama, Bush, whoever) is clear: no.

 

[mheslep]

Let me get this straight, you're saying that because I indulged in what I have called hyperbole in a previous post,

Ok, so if the original bathroom "Obama lies" poet to which the OP referred had come back and post scripted, "the above is hyperbole", then no harm done?

 

[nismaratwork]

What's the difference? As you know, you don't have the opportunity to talk to either face to face, and this internet discussion board is likewise anonymous, essentially writing on a wall. In any case your answer to the OP's call for respect for a President in general (not Obama, Bush, whoever) is clear: no.

Many people meet current and former presidents in person... hell, the audience of The Daily Show was within shouting distance of Carter and Clinton within a week. I don't think shouting, "go to hell" is such a stretch in that situation, especially if a member of congress can shout, "you lie!" during a presidential SPEECH. Yeah, you're going to get moved out of the set, but it's hardly going to stop them.

You don't have to take me at my word that I'm not the bathroom graffiti type, or prone to libel/slander. The fact is that you're taking 4 or 5 sentences out of a long discussion and at the end of it, setting me up as your personal target. So... < >. See? Very easy, and I could be sanctioned for saying that on PF, anonymous or not, although I'm just trying to make a point...

I would add, that given my absolute hatred of Bush W. simply wanting to tell him to go to hell IS respectful compared to the depth of feeling I have regarding the man. If he were just a manager of a company I worked for, and had a similar effect on that company as I believe Bush did on the country, I'd be more inclined to say or do more. The fact is that I DO believe as a rule there should be a standard of respect for POTUS, but there are naturally exceptions to every rule.

 

[nismaratwork]

Ok, so if the original bathroom "Obama lies" poet to which the OP referred had come back and post scripted, "the above is hyperbole", then no harm done?

That's more logical fallacy than actual question mheslep, because I'm accountable within the PF community for what I say... bathroom graffiti is TRULY anonymous.

 

[ThomasT]

In any case I believe the topic of the discussion is supposed to be about showing Respect for our President, which we should have (and show) regardless if we are in the military or a civilian. We should respect Obama, just as we would have respected any other president that is elected into office. That said there is also unnecessarily slanderous remarks about George Bush. Regardless if we like him. Regardless if we agree with him. We should still respect him. He was our President, our leader, not common garbage like how some refer to him as. The bathroom message was unnecessary and condemnable.

Hi Dennis, I agree with you about the bathroom message. I disagree with you about respecting public officials who we know have broken the public covenant. Bush should be spending the rest of his life in prison. I'm ok with hanging him also.

Regarding public officials in general, remember that our first duty as citizens of this republic is to mistrust our elected officials. If we fail to use the tools that the founding fathers have given us, like impeachment, because we think, mistakenly, that using these tools is evidence that our system isn't working, then our system isn't working.