3 Ways To Respect The President When You Don't Like The President

The video is for those who don't prefer to read =)

This is a short, timely, message for Republicans.

And Democrats.

And Libertarians.

And the Green Party (especially the Green Party).

And for anyone else who calls themselves whatever they call themselves, politically speaking.

We have lost the art of debate and civil disagreement in this country. We don't know how to argue without hurting each other. When we don't agree on something, we simply revert to name-calling and lashing out with derogatory aggression. Intellectual debate seems to be a thing of the past, if it ever was a thing.

We're loud talkers and lousy communicators.

We don't listen to understand, we listen so we can contradict.

In a Opinion piece in the New York Times, Bret Stephens wrote:
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At least as far as far as the United States is concerned, Americans have rarely disagreed more in recent decades.

We disagree about racial issues, bathroom policies, health care laws, and, of course, the 45th president. We express our disagreements in radio and cable TV rants in ways that are increasingly virulent; street and campus protests that are increasingly violent; and personal conversations that are increasingly embittering.

This is yet another age in which we judge one another morally depending on where we stand politically.

In this political spectrum, there's no quick and easy solution to peace and, realistically, we will probably never see eye to eye with the 'other side'. Peace is something we can and should pursue as children of God (see Hebrews 12:14). Foremost, because we know the Prince of Peace Himself. However, this Peace will only be consummated in eternity.

Whether you love Trump or hate him, you should respect him. Here are a few tips for respecting the office of President even when you don't like the person who's President:

1) Find Something Good To Say About Them
I'm not naive. I realize this is very hard for some. But it shouldn't be. Here's my attempt at it: Obama ordered for the capture and killing of Osama Bin Laden. There, I said something good about him. See? It's possible. Start by putting your emotions aside for a bit and look at the facts.

Forcing yourself to find something good about a President that you don't like should remind you that a) he/she is serving the country, b) they have a team around them and there is at least one person on their cabinet (or someone, somewhere in government!) who wants the good of this country and c) they're human, just like you. If anything, think about the personal and family sacrifices a US President must undertake at the expense of citizens who don’t care much about him/her. That is something good in and of itself.

I like how Marc Thiessen, Washington Post Columnsit, approached it. He wrote two pieces. One was about the 10 worst things Trump did in 2018 and the other was about the 10 best things Trump did in 2018. You see the balance? And, keep in mind, he is a Republican (former speechwriter for President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld). He could have left out Trumps naughty list. But ignoring a President’s bad parts doesn’t mean he has none. And the same goes for the good. 
  
2) Be Clear About The Reason(s) For Your Disfavor
If you don't have anything good to say...get informed before you speak.

Instead of blasting a President that you don't like simply because you don’t like them, put some weight behind your conviction. If he or she has a different opinion than you or they've made a decision that goes against what you stand for morally or politically, state the reason for your opposing view.

For example, former President Barack Obama was openly pro-abortion. I am strongly pro-life. His rhetoric and executive actions furthered innocent bloodshed in the USA and other nations. Here are just two instances:

• June 2013 - The Obama Administration finalizes requirements that under the Obamacare insurance program, employers must make available abortion-causing drugs, regardless of the religious conscience objections of many employers and even despite the directive of several federal courts to protect the religious conscience of employers (Liberty Counsel, July 1, 2013; Townhall, July 1, 2013).

 

• January 2009 – Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations (Reuters, January 23, 2009).

I'm against abortion because God is the One who gives life and takes life (Deut. 32:39). He formed our inward parts and knit us together in our mothers womb (see Psalm 139). When I kill a baby, I'm siding with the Devil who seeks to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). I could go on. The point is, I have a specific, and in this case Biblical, reason for my discord with President Obama on the (pro-abortion) actions mentioned above. 

​3) Don't Blame The President For Your Problems
The President's day-to-day schedule has little impact on mine. Washington doesn't control my life. Yeah, we could break it down really far and over analyze it to the point where we conjure up a connection between the actions a President takes in the Oval office and the impact it has on the things I can or can’t do in this country. But it misses the point.

In a short opinion letter in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Mark Evans writes: 

Why does it seem that all of today’s problems are put in the lap of President Donald Trump? Joe Biden has been in office for 44 years. Chuck Schumer has been in 21 years. Nancy Pelosi is a 33-year veteran. The list could go on and on. Mr. Trump has been in office for only three years. He’s not responsible for today’s problems. Mr. Trump has been trying to fix them against great resistance (Las Vegas Review Journal, December 22, 2019).

Your personal, economic problems probably stem from your poor decisions and/or lack of ambition, not the national economy. And not because of the President you don't like. Show some respect. And self-respect, for that matter.

If you're still at a wage of under $9/hr and have been protesting for that $15/hr minimum, why not look for another job or industry? Get some training. Read, watch videos, invest your time and learn alongside a mentor for awhile. Step out of you comfort zone. Move out on the East coast if needed (sorry for the cheap shot PNW). Do something. On the flipside, if you've climbed the ladder, so to speak, and have ‘made it’ but are now stuck in a dead-end corporate job, what in the world does the President have to do with it?

I'm not being insensitive. I realize there are circumstances that come up in life that can deal you a serious blow financially, emotionally, physically, vocationally, and so on. I'm not talking about those. I'm referring to the fact that we spend too much time grumbling about the words and deeds of politicians we don't even know, as if they can make or break the course of our life. It's faulty thinking. Whatever happened to personal accountability and a lifestyle of honest gain and steady growth?

Regardless of what happens on Tuesday, November 3rd of this year, be prepared. Be prepared to either support a President you like and for whom you voted, or to respect the elected President, that you don't like.

Keep the Fire Burning,
Danny