Give them a break
By Jaclyn Dillman | Feature Editor
Respect is not a word you hear very often, especially in the political arena. Jokes, spitefulness and outright disrespect has become commonplace when it comes to the men and women who govern our country.
This holds true when referring to our current president, George W. Bush. The people of our country seem to forget that he still remains “the leader of the free world” as they slam Bush harder and harder by jokes almost daily. Impersonations on network television, demeaning calendars filled with quotes and entire Web sites dedicated to belittling President Bush have exploded across the nation, even as his presidency is coming to a close.
U.S. citizens seem to want a scapegoat for the problems encompassing our nation. Granted, President Bush has played a role in many unpopular decisions in the last eight years. However, instead of questioning his leadership in a healthy way, he has virtually lost all status as our commander-in-chief and become the easy target for blame, anger and disrespect.
This lack of respect is appalling in our nation. According to an online MSNBC article, “despite what we may feel about the war in Iraq, the current state of our economy, or whatever else we imagine Bush has failed us in during his presidency, the fact remains that he is our president until January 2009.” He deserves our respect even though he may not receive our approval or even our affection.
It is our right as citizens of a democracy to question and to take an active role in the running of our country. It is healthy for us to question those in power and show our disagreement. We can disagree with the decisions that come from the White House. However, we must remember to criticize the decision, not the president as a person. Some of the jokes about Bush’s alleged stupidity and naïveté are unjust and belittle a man who graduated from Yale University and whom we elected to the highest office in U.S. government twice.
A lack of respect for our president is becoming an increasing problem in our nation. In fact, in a poll completed by CBS earlier this year, 60 percent of Americans think that because of Bush’s criticism in the US, he is not respected by other world leaders. This in itself could cause serious problems for our nation.
According to a USA Today article from earlier this year, Bush’s approval ratings are in the gutter and are currently the lowest in our nation’s history. As a nation, we want to focus on all of the negative and hardly any of the positive. Could someone who has been in office for eight years, elected and re-elected, really have done nothing right for our country? I’m sure we can all agree that is a gross misconception.
As the 2008 presidential race has come to an end, this is our chance to change the lack of respect for our president. In the next four years, we have an opportunity to start fresh, not only with a different administration, but a different standard of respect for the leader of our nation. We have just made history. The election of the first African-American president of the United States is a huge step for our nation, and Barack Obama’s platform is centered on one key element: change. It is time for us as a nation to do just that. Change. This is the opportunity for us to change the tone of disrespect for the Oval Office and begin uniting as a nation under a new, respected leader.
