At breakfast one day last week my 5th grade
daughter was talking about a bumper sticker her friend had seen. “There was a
picture of Obama on it and it said, ‘Does this donkey make my car look big,’
only it didn’t say ‘donkey,’ it said that other bad word.”
My first observation: My daughter refers to her president as
“Obama.” Not “Mr. Obama” or “President Obama,” or even “Barak Obama,” but the
casual name she hears so many adults use.
My second observation: She doesn’t know what to think about
this bumper sticker. Should she snicker with her friends? Or is there something
wrong here, even though she’s not sure what it is?
And finally: It sure is hard to teach respect in a
bumper-sticker world.
A few nights earlier I had talked with some friends about
the lack of respect so evident in our country, how we’ve blurred the lines
between a political figure’s character and the politics he represents. I told
my questioning kids that while I don’t agree with President Obama’s politics
and I hate some of his policies, he still has my respect. I actually find him
pretty easy to respect. He’s obviously very smart. He carries himself well and
always looks professional. He’s done nothing shameful to embarrass himself or
our country. He seems to be an honorable husband and father, and I’d be
surprised to see scandal erupt in his life. And besides all that, I believe that the President of the United States—no matter who it is—is simply a
position that deserves respect. That’s why I take it personally when I see the
insolent bumper stickers. That’s my president they’re ridiculing. I didn’t vote
for him but he represents my country, and I don’t want anyone smacking him to
the ground with their insults.
Does the Golden Rule not apply to presidents? Is that what
we want our kids to learn? “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything
at all. Except when it comes to the president. Then you can draw cartoons of
little boys peeing on his head and plaster it to the back of your car.”
Our children need to understand that freedom of speech is a
gift. Combined with respect, it’s the recipe for a great nation. Without
respect—in our words, our actions, and our bumper stickers—not so much.
