Respect

re·spect

1. To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem

2. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem

3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation

These three definitions bring home the true meaning of the word respect. However, it seems as though most of our Congressmen and women in Washington as well as some of our fellow Americans have a tough time with this concept. What I'm getting at is the respect of presidents. It has happened for many years but it seems to have happened frequently over the past couple administrations. There was a lot of disrespect of Bush when he was president but, honestly, nothing like I'm seeing now with Pres. Obama. No, I'm not writing this because I'm a democrat just trying to defend the president or what have you. I'm writing this out of disappointment of our country.

Let's talk about Congress first. The most famous instance of disrespect recently was when Congressman Joe Wilson called the president a liar during one of Obama's speeches to a joint session of Congress. But there have been numerous other times as well. For instance, Sen. Pat Roberts from Kansas told the media after a meeting with the president and other senators that the president needs to "take a Valium before he comes in and talks to Republicans and just calm down; don’t take anything so seriously." And it's not just the GOP who's doing this. Democrats are guilty of it too whether it's attacks on Obama or on Bush back when he was president. For example, Dems booed Pres. Bush during his 2005 State of the Union Address.

Now on to our fellow Americans. I'm sure we've all said something about a president, but most of us do it in the privacy of our own homes. Some take it to the next level by publicly mocking or disrespecting a president. Most of the time with us, it comes in the form of booing. Soemtimes, though it very well could be heckling and/or interrupting a speech.

Respect (or a lack of it) may not be talked about on a daily basis but it's a big problem in our country today. Here's my stance on it: you need to respect your president regardless of what political party they're affiliated with. I never liked Pres. Bush during his administration but when I made my first trip to Washington and saw the White House, I was amazed that our president works in that building just feet from where I was standing. I joked about him, sure, but I never once disrespected him like people did or do now with Pres. Obama. As a country, we all need to wake up and, at the very least, repsect our president instead of treating him like some are now. It's truly making his job a lot tougher!