Too Much!!!!

When is too much too much?  When is it way over the top?   Where did the respect go?  Respect for our fellow citizens, for each other, for elected officials, for the Office of the President of the United States?

It starts at the top when someone in authority or aspiring to power pretends not to hear a derogatory comment or they choose to interpret it as harmless and inconsequential.  When the so called leader refuses to refute or even repudiate a slur or accusation that is basically an out and out lie, they are in essence giving credence to the lie.  The enormous amount of race-baiting and racist inuendo in our country's politics is alarming.  "The president is a Muslim"; Black people want to just lounge on the safety net built by hard working White Citizens".  "Black youth are all strong and dangerous to White people in particular - you had better buy a gun to protect yourself when they inevitably will come to car-jack your vehicle.  You can always through the gun away later and claim self-defense."  These last words come from the writings of a current presidential candidate (Ron Paul).  "I don't want to take money away from hardworking white people and give it to Black people"- Rick Santorum.  When Chuck Grassley of Iowa calls the president stupid in Social media,  or Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina yells out 'You Lie' during the State of the Union speech in January 2009.

The loss of decency in our  civil discourse does indeed trickle down.  If people at the top don't need to refrain from derogatory comments about our leaders, then why do we as individual citizens need to do likewise?  It's open season on name-calling, lying through our teeth, and casting aspersions on the 'other side'.  The blatant disrespect shown by Joe Wilson was so enamored by gun lovers that the line has been commemorated on a line of AR-15 assault rifles by being etched on the metal plate.


As a former teacher, I recall all too clearly how name calling and bullying almost invariably lead to fisticuffs if not out and out violence on the playground.  Quite often it spilled out into the community following the dismissal of school.   My perspective today is that the harsh, vitriolic language being used at the higher echelons of our political rapport is rubbing off and spilling out on all of us as American,  and we have no one to hold us accountable because the leaders are so engrossed themselves in one-ups-manship in an effort to make the other guy or other side look bad, they can't restrain themselves long enough to caution us on the dangers of deriding and denigrating each other.  What is to really be won when in effect you will end up with a populace incapable of being governed peacefully or bi-partisanly?  Is our future to be based totally on who can call out the worst and loudest names or challenges.  Have the most derogatory commercials.  Tell the most lies.  On who can tarnish the reputation and character of the other guy the most?  


Have we totally forgotten how that diverse group of founding fathers worked together, sometimes against their own interests, to bring together a nation founded on ideals that would benefit all of it's citizens, not just the privileged or wealthy?  We haven't reached the pinnacle of that dream yet, and we never will if we can only look forward to name-calling and destructive dialogue, rather than holding our elected leaders accountable for being the best they can be, as well as doing what is best for all of their constituents.