Violence and disrespect

The Modeling Starts at the Top!

Everyone does it!

Why are we shocked at the violence in our society and the blatant disrespect for any level of authority (fellow citizens, police, the President).  The kids learn it from their elders and I do mean their elders – the elder statesmen who are elected to run our country for the good of all it’s citizens.  There is no indecency that is out of bounds today to demean the president and his office.  The elders in Washington lead the way, where everything is about politics and one-ups-man-ship and anything to win.  No decisions are made these days with you and I in mind.  When politicians overtly work to overturn the policies that the president feels will work to benefit not only our country, but the world.  When politicians overtly delay the next cabinet nomination without just cause and no legitimate dissent.  When politicians overtly call the president a liar.  When politicians overtly write letters to other nations undermining the work of our state department.  When politicians overtly invite foreign leaders to come to speak to the governing houses of this nation in order to undermine a deal that neither they, or none of us really know anything about.  When politicians overtly vote 50 + times to overturn a healthcare law that is the law of the land instead of working vigorously to make it better! 

When politicians overtly seek to go back to a time when voting rights were challenged, women aren’t smart enough to make their own decisions and they don’t remember that there is indeed separation of church and state.  When politicians govern by deadline, blackmail and hijacking. 

I have not always liked or admired every president during my lifetime, but I always respected his office and position.  I was an educator for 30 years and today I feel that the ideals and platitudes I espoused to my thousands of students (a large number of whom were Arican-American, Asian and Hispanic) over the years were really untruths.  I remember saying repeatedly, year after year, "What a wonderful country we live in!   If you do well in school and work hard you can do anything you want to do in the US – even be president.”  I believe in free speech and freedom of expression just as much as the next person, but this current version is not the America I have loved and admired.  It is indeed becoming a lot like a circus, to be polite.