"He's not my President. I didn't vote for him."
The first time I heard this comment was November 1963, shortly after the death of President John Kennedy was announced. The thought astonished me! Up to that point my naive understanding of democracy meant that we voted and the winner who received the majority of the votes became our president. People respected him, whether they voted for him or not. The country accepted him and let him lead. To hear someone verbalize the exact opposite took me aback. The man shot in the motorcade in Dallas, Texas was not acknowledged as president by at least one! I wondered, even back then, how can a country function if that sort of attitude prevails? I am asking the same question again today.
Barack Obama is the president of the United States. A majority of the people elected him whether I voted for him or not. How can there be so much disrespect for the person elected by the majority? Does that mean the disrespect extends to the majority who voted? Can we only respect those who agree with us and think like us and look like us?
I guess there is still a naive streak in me. Why did I assume the country would be willing to give the health/insurance reform law time to prove its worth if it passed? Now the paralyzing fear, spiteful vengeance, and hateful mean-spirited rhetoric surprises me. Is our country governable?
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Thank you for your words, they are so true. He was elected by the majority and we must respect the office he holds. How can we expect our youth to respect any authority if they do not respect the highest office in the land.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, I agree, we need to respect him for the position he is in. I don't even think we should address him as "Obama". He is President Obama, and always will be.
ReplyDeleteHe ran this through though, instead of getting congress to draft a bipartisan bill. He preached bipartisanship, but then he did the opposite. I am not saying the Republicans are blameless- far from it. But this wasn't a bipartisan bill and I think it should have been.
Scripture says to honor those to whom it is due. It is due our president whether he acts bipartisan or not, or whether he does something we don't like.
He is our President, and we as believers in the finished work of the cross need to respect him, call him by his rightful title and pray for him and congress daily.
Anonymous, we observe the same process and come to different conclusions. I had not realized so many diffeent presidents had advocated for a reform in health care. That list was bipartisan. I hear that some points of the bill have been previously presented by Republicans (but don't ask me what they are because I've not researrched that aspect of the bill).
ReplyDeleteI, too, think the bill should have been biparisan, but both parties have to be willing to work together for that to happen.