When I first started getting into politics, and I had taken most of what I was told about the political world for granted, I believed that we had to respect our President, regardless of who was elected. The position engendered respect, so respect must be given. However, is this really the case?
[extoc]
Titles Engender Respect
Titles prompt a certain level of respect. We make an assumption about a person’s character based on his or her title. This is reasonable; we do not always have time to get to know the person in detail before making a decision about what they say or do. We obviously cannot pick through all of a Doctor’s medical knowledge before deciding whether or not to take that person’s medical advice. That is why the title of President engenders great respect. We assume that the person has accomplished so much that he or she is an acceptable person to be at the core of our entire political and legal system.
Respect Can Be Lost
However, that does not mean that we must continue to respect that person regardless of what he or she does. Once we have more information, by which we can judge a person’s character, we can decide whether or not that person’s opinion holds any merit. For instance, if your doctor mentions a piece of medical information that is certainly out of date, you can start to reconsider whether or not the doctor’s knowledge is too far outdated to still be in medicine. The recent comments, which contradict our current medical and anthropological understanding of gender and sex, by Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the former psychiatrist-in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital, in regard to transgender, is one example. Of course, we probably have all had our own personal instances where someone who should be respected based upon title, ends up not being worth his salt.
The Loss of Presidential Respect
This is true even for one of the most respected positions in the country: the President of the United States. It is only before we know exactly who the President is that we should respect him. In the case of the last few administrations, we have many reasons to not respect these people. Poor economic decisions, endless wars and terrorist attacks, and crony capitalism are just a few actions that make both Bush and Obama repugnant and completely undeserving of our respect. To continue to respect these people, simply because of title, turns these them into cult figures rather than simply Presidents.
Further Reading
1. The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power (Amazon.com)
2. False Idol: Barack Obama and the Continuing Cult of the Presidency (Amazon.com) [Kindle]
3. Is the America Two Party System a Cult?