Thursday, September 10, 2009
Respect
I'm not a Yankee's Fan and this isn't a blog about baseball but a moment in baseball (http://www.newsday.com/sports/derek-jeter-ties-lou-gehrig-in-career-hits-1.1434725?localLinksEnabled=false) history I think helped me to crystallize some thoughts that have been rolling around in my soon to be 51 year old head.
Derek Jeter, famed Yankee's short-stop tied the most career hits record for any Yankee player, tying the great Lou Gehrig. Jeter is famous for his disdain of individual records over team accomplishments. When he hit his record tying single in the 7th inning of the Yankee's game with the Tampa Bay Rays, Yankee Stadium broke out into a standing ovation that lasted for one and half minutes. Jeter was noticeably embarrassed by the attention but acknowledge the crowd with a tip of his hat. Even the Ray's players were applauding him for his efforts. In a time of in your face / win at all costs sports, it was refreshing to me, to see an opponent acknowledge someone on the opposing team accomplishment out of respect.
I did not vote for President Obama and I do not support many of his policies. Nevertheless he is the President of our Nation and that alone should call for times of respect. I was taken aback at the firestorm that preceded the President's address to school children. This is the same President who could send my son off to war to defend our country and yet, some did not want their children to hear this country's President talk about doing well in school and setting goals.
Then there was the outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina in the middle of the President's speech to a nation-wide audience in which he called the President a liar. My friends, I do not advocate rolling over and playing dead in opposition to some (if not all) of the President's policies. But I believe and let it start with me, we must find our way back to some level of collegiality when it comes to those we oppose.
There are many things that I'm proud of when it comes to my heritage in the Churches of Christ. One thing that I'm not proud of is our reputation among many outside our fellowship for the same kind of in your face / lack of respect / (or as Trey http://www.treymorgan.net/) Morgan in a recent post) being a jerk attitude to people that we oppose. Many of you have felt the sting of what I just described.
Respect does not necessarily signal agreement or weakness but lack of it will lead in my opinion, to anarchy.
Derek Jeter, famed Yankee's short-stop tied the most career hits record for any Yankee player, tying the great Lou Gehrig. Jeter is famous for his disdain of individual records over team accomplishments. When he hit his record tying single in the 7th inning of the Yankee's game with the Tampa Bay Rays, Yankee Stadium broke out into a standing ovation that lasted for one and half minutes. Jeter was noticeably embarrassed by the attention but acknowledge the crowd with a tip of his hat. Even the Ray's players were applauding him for his efforts. In a time of in your face / win at all costs sports, it was refreshing to me, to see an opponent acknowledge someone on the opposing team accomplishment out of respect.
I did not vote for President Obama and I do not support many of his policies. Nevertheless he is the President of our Nation and that alone should call for times of respect. I was taken aback at the firestorm that preceded the President's address to school children. This is the same President who could send my son off to war to defend our country and yet, some did not want their children to hear this country's President talk about doing well in school and setting goals.
Then there was the outburst from Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina in the middle of the President's speech to a nation-wide audience in which he called the President a liar. My friends, I do not advocate rolling over and playing dead in opposition to some (if not all) of the President's policies. But I believe and let it start with me, we must find our way back to some level of collegiality when it comes to those we oppose.
There are many things that I'm proud of when it comes to my heritage in the Churches of Christ. One thing that I'm not proud of is our reputation among many outside our fellowship for the same kind of in your face / lack of respect / (or as Trey http://www.treymorgan.net/) Morgan in a recent post) being a jerk attitude to people that we oppose. Many of you have felt the sting of what I just described.
Respect does not necessarily signal agreement or weakness but lack of it will lead in my opinion, to anarchy.
Comments:
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My mother used to say, "Why do people have to be so ugly?" I love the spirit of Carl Ketcherside who's motto was, "Wherever God has a child, I have a brother or sister." His theology and spirit was mostly never appreciated in his life time.
And I respectfully disagree with Greg's disagreement.
Peace.
And I respectfully disagree with Greg's disagreement.
Peace.
Puck and Greg - Thanks for the input. I hope the points I'm trying to communicate are:
1. Be it in church, town hall meetings, a school, or in the Capitol Building, surely we can give each other a "respectful" listening environment while disagreeing as well as opposing. I think its the timing of the opposing which I'm questioning.
2. If we've lost our ability to do #1, then all of us will be subject to the same treatment whether it be the locales I mention above or including our homes and churches as well.
3. This isn't a new problem that just started with the Obama Administration. President Bush was treated just as disrespectful by his opponents.
1. Be it in church, town hall meetings, a school, or in the Capitol Building, surely we can give each other a "respectful" listening environment while disagreeing as well as opposing. I think its the timing of the opposing which I'm questioning.
2. If we've lost our ability to do #1, then all of us will be subject to the same treatment whether it be the locales I mention above or including our homes and churches as well.
3. This isn't a new problem that just started with the Obama Administration. President Bush was treated just as disrespectful by his opponents.
I've mentioned this before, I think, but let me do so again. I have noticed, politically, that in the "church," most of the time one party is favored over the other, for obvious reasons. When that party is in control, many prayers are offered for the president. I will say I've heard prayers offered for President Obama, but I don't think I ever heard a prayer uttered for President Clinton! They ALL need our prayers, and I respectfully agree with all you have said about the respect/disrespect issue. Presidents are made the butt of jokes, ridiculed, maligned, etc. at free will. But just a few short years ago, even though other presidents were doing some of the same things the modern-day ones were doing, they were NOT ridiculed to their faces and made fun of, simply because of the respect due the office, not the man. Another case in point would be that we teach our kids, most of the time, to respect the law. Are all policemen upstanding citizens or are some of them corrupt? But out of respect for the LAW, we respect the wearing of the uniform until we have a concrete reason not to. And when it's all said and done, whether law, politics, or religion, everyone on both sides thinks they are right.
Good post. (In my opinion! :) )
Good post. (In my opinion! :) )
Judy - Good points that I respectfully agree with.
You know you touched on one that I think of - we teach our kids to be good citizens and all the like that you mentioned. How does that measure up to folks who say they're telling their kids to not listen to the President.
I didn't say "agree" because every person in our country has the right to disagree with any President as well as teach their kids what they think is right and wrong. But we should be willing to listen and then feel that in the proper way and forum, to agree or disagree with anyone.
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You know you touched on one that I think of - we teach our kids to be good citizens and all the like that you mentioned. How does that measure up to folks who say they're telling their kids to not listen to the President.
I didn't say "agree" because every person in our country has the right to disagree with any President as well as teach their kids what they think is right and wrong. But we should be willing to listen and then feel that in the proper way and forum, to agree or disagree with anyone.
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