The View from a Drawbridge

During Obama’s recent State of the Union address, there was a moment that made me sick to my stomach. Don’t get excited, Republicans. I actually agreed with everything he had to say, as predictable as most of it was.

No, what made me sick was the way some Republican congressmen reacted to something he said. Toward the end of his speech, and less than 7 minutes after he talked about the need for politicians to set a better example for the American people, this happened:

(For those of you who can’t see the video, Obama says, “I have no more campaigns to run.” And you hear applause. Applause. To his credit, Obama retorts, “I know, ‘cause I won both of ‘em.”

The reason I was sickened was that, call me old fashioned, I still think that even if you disagree with the man who holds the office, you still should have respect for the presidency. This is the man that the majority of Americans elected to be the leader of the free world. Twice. That counts for something. That matters.

I despised President Bush (both of them, actually), but I was still horrified when someone threw a shoe at him. And every sane person should be shocked at assassination attempts, whether they succeed or not.

You don’t have to like Obama in order to realize that we are lucky as hell to have a president rather than a dictator. We have been changing leaders every 4 or 8 years since this country began without a single military coup. That’s pretty freakin’ phenomenal. Our country is one of the few that can say that. And a lot of people have fought and died to allow us to maintain these rights.

There seems to be a growing cynicism and lack of respect in this country. If we can’t even maintain it for our chosen leader, then all hope is lost. Obama had a point. Congress needs to set an example. What they did with their applause during that few moments of the State of the Union address tells you all you need to know the next time you consider voting for one of these people. We need to restore more dignity to the political process. If our representatives can’t even do that much, it’s time for a change.