By Joey Clark
. . . what a mad, mad world it is, especially with regard to our presidential politics. The talk radio airwaves
I tend to listen to every day are abuzz with piss and vinegar. The two major parties’ nominees are the most disliked
candidates in modern American history, and, accordingly, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are both apt targets for
a disgruntled and divided America’s scorn and derision. The 2016 election has become a test of wits in the art of
smears and throwing shade—not just for the candidates themselves, but for their followers as well.
Donald Trump has been described as a racist, a fascist, a threat to our democracy, and a money-grubbing villain.
Even the ghostwriter of the The Art of the Deal now says if he were writing a book on Trump today, he would
call it “The Sociopath.” Hillary Clinton has been called a liar, a witch, a word that rhymes with witch, a crook, a
murderer, an enabler of her husband's sexual predations, and branded by Britain's Boris Johnson as “a sadistic
nurse in a mental hospital.”
And this is, by no means, an exhaustive list of what the people think of Trump and Clinton. Just peruse social
media groups and comments sections, and you will have your proof. Nor are these accusations against Clinton
and Trump necessarily untrue. Yet, despite all their personal shortcomings and gaudy ambitions, the American
people are told (or at least tell themselves) they must choose between the two out of respect for the office.
So, who will win this battle of the despicables? Despicable-he or despicable-she? Well, only time will tell whether
Hillary or Trump has better mobilized their minions, their respective troll armies, in their race to the bottom of the
presidential barrel, but of this we can be certain – the victory will be bittersweet with dishonor, to say the least . . .
This worship of the presidential chair is one of the most egregious aspects of American political culture. The cult
of personality surrounding the nation’s top executive office waxes and wanes in its fervor depending on the person
in power, but what remains constant is a foolish belief in the power of one person to represent, lead, administer,
placate, ingratiate, mislead, murder, steal, defraud, and overall act like a clever ass in the name of the people – that
is, the president is expected to perform all those actions necessary for ruling over a nation . . .
I would not teach my children to respect the office. I will teach my children to first respect themselves, and then I
will teach them the golden rule in regard to others, no matter if the person they are dealing with is homeless on the
street or a President in the Oval. I will teach my children to respect people's rights and equal dignity, not their
positions of power. Presidents do not deserve our respect, son, people do.
If only we could see ourselves as everyday people and stop worshiping at the altar of the Presidency, we and our
children would be the better for it, no matter how topsy-turvy the world may become. I say it is high time we hold
Presidential power and the effect it has on good people in contempt rather than idealizing the office. Despite my life
being a model of Thomas Gore’s advice up to this point – be not fruitful, do not multiply – I hope that one day I
will be able to teach my own children these very lessons.
Complete essay here:
https://fee.org/articles/should-i-teach-my-kids-to-respect-the-office-of-the-presidency/--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assuming he knows them, I wonder if the writer is as struck as I have always been by these words:
I reject this doctrine of the constitutional omnipotence of the president. As long as I have a mind to think,
a tongue to speak, and a heart to love my country, I shall deny that the Constitution confers any autocratic
power on the president, or authorises him to convert George Washington's America into Gaius Caesar's Rome.---Sam Ervin, chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee.
