So this past week on facebook there was a group started with the ridiculous over-the-top name of "DEAR LORD THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR PATRICK SWAYZE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS FARRAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN."
I LOL'd when I saw the name. Thought it was hilarious. Patrick Swayze was pretty good in the 2 or 3 movies I saw him in but he was no Tom Hanks. Farrah Fawcett? I guess she could be loosely labeled an "actress" but she wouldn't make my top 100, much less my "favorite". I was a Michael Jackson fan for a brief period of time when I was about 13, but again, not my favorite. The group name made me laugh, though, so I clicked the little "like" button and thought nothing else of it until later in the day when I got an inbox message from one of my liberal friends (of whom there are probably 15-20 among my facebook contacts). She was very offended by the name of the group and by the fact that I "liked" it. I was surprised that she was so offended, but her friendship meant more to me than having my name as a "liker" on the group's wall, so I "unliked" it. You used to "join" or "leave" facebook groups, but now it's simply "like" or "unlike".
ANYWAY.... I thought that she was overreacting to something trivial and silly. Of course I'm not praying for the death of the President of the United States. And I think she knows that about me personally. But she brought up some interesting points. For us, the red-blooded American, conservative Republicans in trucker caps and faded jeans, this is funny. But not everyone appreciates redneck humor. I'm not about being "PC".... I respect honesty and people telling it like it is. But I guess it's time to lean more toward the center if I'm going to get along with people in this day and age. I choose my friends, but I can't choose some of the people I deal with on a daily basis, and some of them are bound to be liberals who just don't "get" how conservatives think. How boring it would be if we all thought the same way. So... I vow to respect others' feelings even if my feelings are on the completely opposite end of the spectrum.
Republican actor John Wayne said, upon the election of Democrat John F. Kennedy, "I didn't vote for him, but he's my President and I hope he does a good job." We all need to respect the Office a bit more than we do. We Republicans heard the hate speeches throughout both of the Bushes terms, and now we're returning the favor. We all blame Obama for our woes when the guy hasn't even been in the White House long enough to have created the woes we face. The blame lies with the terrorists who tore our world upside down on 9/11. Nothing has been the same in the United States since, and both Bush and Obama have had to deal with the economic impact of fighting terrorism on a global level.
I see this in Church, in the work force, and even in families. Though we may not like the man in the position, we have to respect the office to a degree. Maybe the Bishop didn't pay you for work you did for him ten years ago. Maybe your boss is ... well, any number of things your boss could be... Gotta respect the office. Go home and complain about the guy to your spouse if you have to, but at church, at work, respect the office, as hard as it may be.
So there you go. I didn't vote for him but he is my President for the next 2 1/2 years. And I am not praying for his death!!! His leanings toward Socialism scare me, but for now, he is the President and all I can do is pray that he makes good decisions for us and future generations of Americans.