Respect the President
A lot of people in the political sphere seem to confuse "Respect the president" with "Agree with the President" and "Support the President's policies." It goes without saying that such a view undermines the very nature of representative democracy.
They will almost certainly deny this vigorously, but the vast majority of instances of "disrespect" they object to are actually disagreement with policy or frustration over bad decisions. If those constitute 'disrespect,' I shake my head and sigh.
Why do I bring this up?
The whole 'bend over and respect your leader!' argument is often trotted out by a guy that I talk to occasionally online. He's a thirty-something Republican punk rocker whose claim to fame is being a part of a Ramones cover band in the 90's. He swims deep in the 'Liberals control everything, there's nothing more radical than being conservative!" pool, and fancies himself a straight-talking no-nonsense guy who tells it like it is.
What that really seems to mean is that he vilifies anyone who disagrees with him, and accuses those who call him a jerk of being jealous of his musical success. He makes bold, brash statements that pass being 'inaccurate' and veer into the realm of 'delusionally false.' He believes that liberals are evil, but defines the word so broadly (Libertarians, Communists, Europeans, and Greens all go under the banner) that it simply means 'Those who are not him." When called to account for his silliness, he wriggles away in a tangle of amateur sophistry and concludes with "Just kidding!" It's a hoot to watch, if you're in the train-wreck-watching mood.
He weighed in yesterday on a message board I frequent, posting that people who oppose the war in Iraq or protest Bush's decisions aren't supporting the troops (another meme worth drop-kicking). A US Army grunt currently stationed in Iraq replied to him, saying that he was full of doody. Some might be confused when faced with a US Military Man Who Didn't Vote Bush, like Hugh trying to comprehend a 17-dimensional shape. Our heroic Conservative Rocker turned on a dime, though, bravely telling the GI that he was a whiner who didn't "respect the President" like an honorable GI should. The President deserves our respect because he won the election.
I wonder if other publicly elected officials deserve this special sort of respect. Is it a sliding scale of respect-and-agreement, based on the importance of the office? Many who demand that the president enjoy this special sort of respect also have some pretty harsh words to say about Democratic and liberal congressmen and senators, themselves legally elected representatives in the US government. Perhaps it only kicks in at the executive level.
Later, said RepubliPunk explained that by 'respect,' he simply meant 'not slandering.' It's more of the afore-mentioned sophistry, though -- he also clarified that only the President enjoys this special sort of respect, apparently making legal slander perfectly fine if it's directed at a Supreme Court Justice or a member of Congress. I see more and more conservatives at the grass-roots level picking up this meme, though -- people more coherent than this guy. I don't believe that the President, by virtue of winning the election, deserves any more special respect than any sports figure, school teacher, or CEO who's succeeded in their chosen calling. As the legal office-holder, he's certainly entitled to sign executive orders, present budgets to Congress, and so on. The "Respect our leader!" cries, though, sound more and more like calls for kingly honor. As the citizen of a democratic republic, I find that pretty unsettling.
We do not elect kings. We do not elect National Father Figures. We elect the head of the executive branch and ask him to perform specific duties. He is accountable to the people he serves, not every four years but every day.
The Dear Leader
1. That guy is not a punk rocker. If he talked that way around the real thing he'd be wearing Doc Martens as earrings in no time. Whatever his external Mohawk, he is wearing the Dockers of the heart.
2. When they say "respect the President" they mean "respect this President". The same people showed very little respect for Mr. Clinton when he was in office, and in fact did slander him and force a nationwide discussion of his preferences in oral sex.
3. There's a common misconception that the President is everyone's Commander-in-Chief and that we must obey him. This is only true if you are in the military, and if he is acting in his capacity as military commander. If you are an ordinary citizen, the President is your employee and you are allowed -- in fact required -- to instruct him on his duties and discipline him when he does not fulfill his job requirements. People who like to call the President our Commander-in-Chieff would like the whole country to be in the military, and led by a great Leader, and that's fascism. We don't play that here.
4. What we are called upon to respect is not the person of the president, but the office of the Presidency. It's a very important position constitutionally and do not want to bring down the reputation of the nation with slander, unprofessionalism, illegal activities, boorish behavior, or worst of all unconstitutional initiatives coming from that office. If the individual in office is not living up to our standards for the Presidency, then we impeach and hire a new one. If Mr. Clinton can be brought to an impeachment trial for some unprofessional sex and some lying about it, I think Mr. Bush can stand to be yelled at a little for his own transgressions.
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