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Romans 13:1-7  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ..

The President has been called a communist, socialist, fascist dictator, liar, cheat and idiot.  By the way, clearly confusion reigns as no one can be a communist and a fascist at the same time. What  is missing from our discourse and clearly proven without a doubt is the last few days is that we  are  locked in a political death spiral.

Simple respect will not solve the problems we face as a nation.  But, it will allow the conversation that is necessary for it to begin. Respect for the office of the President of The United States of America is demanded of every U.S. citizen. According to our civics books:

The President is both the head of state and head of government of the United States of America, and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. If you are an American citizen it is your duty to respect the Office of the President of the United States, much like a Sergeant shows respect to a Lieutenant’s rank, despite the fact that he is usually older and wise.Whether you respect the person residing in the Office of the President of the United States or not, you still need to respect the office itself.

A few  years ago  a  Senator  jeered the President from the floor. That  response of a Senator during the President’s Address was just one of many in the constant onslaught of disrespect to the office.. On September 9, 2009, Senator Wilson shouted at President Barack Obama while Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to outline his proposal for reforming health care.During his address, Obama said: “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” In a breach of decorum, Wilson pointed at Obama and shouted, “You lie!” twice.Wilson attracted national and international attention for the incident. He said afterwards that his outburst reflected his view that the bill would provide government-subsidized benefits to illegal immigrants.The office of the President, no matter who sits in the oval office, deserves our respect. If we so belittle the office through excessive partisanship we lessen the authority that the office deserves.

The President of the United States is our leader, our chief executive, the person who the rest of the world looks to as representing the United States. How far do we take partisanship before it becomes demeaning to the office? Is our political system so warped that what is best for the country becomes less important than partisan gain?

When I was in school, I was taught that it was proper to use the phrase, “Mr. President…” or at least always say “President ___ ” using the person’s last name after his title. It’s good manners and a matter of respect. President Obama has never been given that courtesy. From the start members of the Republican Party and members of the media referred to him as Obama.  It is just rude. You hear the statement that a President needs to earn respect. No, for the office, to maintain the respect it deserves, one should always treat whomever is in office with respect. Period. Never in our history has a president’s legitimacy been questioned and challenged d so vociferously and continuously.

Forty seven Senate Republicans argued in an open letter to Iranian leaders that any agreement they may strike would not last beyond President Barack Obama’s administration. Who does that? The senators’ letter is an childish act  of anti-diplomacy specifically designed to undermine the president’s efforts to conduct foreign affairs in his capacity as chief executive.“We will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by the Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement,” the letter stated.

Politics has become an even nastier business in the last twenty years. Cutthroat tactics and bashing opponents characterize a majority. In fact, the polite, civil candidate is pummeled and left in a state of shock. While the letter’s signatories are U.S. senators, that does not mean they have the “authority of the United States” as required by the law since when it comes to conducting foreign policy, the executive branch is the United States, taking into consideration the occasional “Advice and Consent of the Senate” as prescribed by the Constitution. However, this letter is neither advice, nor consent. It’s directly addressed to leaders of a foreign government presently involved in talks with the U.S., and it is designed to thwart those talks. Unless the senators were authorized by the president to address Iran’s leaders in this letter, a case can be made that 47 U.S. senators just violated a federal law that carries a prison term of up to three years.

Whether the law was broken or not, the fact remains that once again Republicans have shown themselves not only unfit to govern, but unwilling to govern, because governance sometimes means making agreements that don’t give you everything you want.

I believe everyone should go back to when we were children and were told that not everything you think needs to be said out loud. Be respectful to other people and their time and things. More importantly Think before you speak!

Our government is at a standstill. Are we happy with that? Are there no limits in the level of discord that we are willing to permit under the guise of partisanship? The American people deserve better and so does the office of President and the current occupant of the White House.

What do you think?

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Undermining The President Disobeys The Law Of God  was originally published on elev8.hellobeautiful.com