R.E.S.P.E.C.T. 09-10-09

Last night was the straw that broke this camel's back. I'm gonna rant, and if you don't like it, don't read it.

What the hell has happened to America? I'm again ashamed. Yes, we have free choice, we have free speech, and we can voice our opinion without consequences. That's all fine and dandy, but come ON!

The Health Care Debate. The National Address to the school kids. ANY State of The Union Address. It's all politics, and politics is even uglier now than it ever has been. It's shameful the way people are acting these days. I don't understand, and the worse it gets, the less it seems likely that it will ever get better. I'm not going to defend the Heath Care reform. I don't know that much about it to voice an opinion. The only thing that I will say is that I DO know that it is NOT socialism. Shut up!

When I was a kid, my teachers expected us to watch any Address that the President gave on television. Not only that, but we were required to write a paper on it, AND write what the other side might be saying. It was homework. We had to be up on Current Events. It was important. We were taught to respect our National leader, regardless if our parents voted for them or not. It's the President of The United States, People!! My mom, even if she didn't like who was the President, would sit down and watch. She would expect me to as well. I hated it as a kid. How boring! It was dull to me. But I did it. According to my children's school's, my children don't have to watch. They don't have to write a paper. They don't have to talk about it.

Kids these days are not expected to listen. Many schools kept the the back to school address out of the children's ears, because they didn't want to get flack from the parents who don't accept him as our leader. That its for the parents to decide whether or not they want their children to listen to the speech. The excuse it "We don't want to bring politics into the school system. We don't like the agenda." Agenda? Really? People made this a way bigger deal than it needed to be. Politics should be kept out of the school. Well. What is current events, then? Our children should become ignorant to what's going on in the outside world? We should shield our precious children from all the ugliness that our politicians are creating? I agree wholeheartedly that the politicians are setting a really bad example of how to behave. But couldn't that create change?

What happens, as the disrespect for our leaders continue? What little boy or girl will want to even aspire to become the next President of the United States? I know I wouldn't. It is my opinion that Everything that comes out of Obama's mouth is criticized and blown out of proportion. To me, it seems that its a smear campaign that has continued beyond the nasty negative media from the opposing party when he was running.

Last night, as I watched the President's address to the congress, I was actually snickering, watching as half the audience would sit there, stone faced as the rest of the audience would jump up and applaud for whatever clever thing Obama said. I saw them get up a few times to clap, but it reminded me of the school days when kids would whisper "Psst. let's not stand up and applaud. Lets stand out!" I am not saying that its not ok to rebel, there is a time and a place for freedom of opinion, and if that's how they were choosing to make their statement, then fine. It was like a yo-yo, the audience, up and down clap, and quiet. Fine, whatever.

But when one congressman yelled out "You Lie!!" during the President's speech, and all heads swiveled in the direction of the outburst, my mouth dropped open. ARE you friggin serious?

I watched Obama's mouth form a firm thin line. I watched as he pointed to the man and he said "That's not true" and continued his speech. I watched as the V.P. Looked down, ashamed, and then glared at the man continually for the next five minutes.

Sure the guy apologized the next day. He embarrassed his fellow congressmen. He embarrassed the state that he represents. What a lack of decorum, of civility! He can disagree with the President, we all have that right. But how disrespectful!
The interesting thing is, after his major fail, his opponent was given over $100,000 in donations last night. Ouch. That has gotta hurt.

Is this the America my children are growing up in? How scary! Has it always been like this? Or is it just now? Is it because it's Obama? Is it racial? I don't know!!

After the address last night, there was a congressman, who was also a heart surgeon who gave a "Republican Rebuttal" for the GOP. It was a 10 minute address to our country nullifying everything that the President said. What are people going to remember? How clever. Has that ever happened before? I guess maybe I'm ignorant, but I don't even know. I have never seen anything like it.

Our country is so divided, there is no bipartisanship. How are we ever going to come together now that it really counts? Working on opposite ends of the spectrum running away from each other isn't going to solve anything.

We need a solution.
Anybody remember the Poem "The Kindergarten Wall"by John McCutcheon?

Of all you learn here, remember this the best
Don't hurt each other and clean up your mess.
Take a nap every day, wash before you eat
Hold hands, stick together,
Look before you cross the street.
Remember the seed in the little paper cup,
First the root goes down, then the plant grows up!

Lately I've been worried as I look around and see.
An awful lot of grownups acting foolish as can be
I know there's lots of things to learn, I haven't mastered yet,
Still it seems it's real important stuff that grownups soon forget.
I know we'd all be better off if we could just recall
That little poem hanging on the kindergarten wall.