Friday, March 20, 2015

You might not respect the man, but you've got to respect the office

Any time I hear someone say "You might not respect the president, but you have to respect the office," I'm tempted to respond with "You might not respect Prince Charles, but you have to respect the office."
"You might not respect Fidel, but you've got to respect the office of Cuban Dicatator for life."
"You might not have liked Pope Pius XXII, or any other pope, but you gotta respect the office."
"You might not respect Reverend Jimmy Swaggart, pastor of the Family Worship Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but you have to respect the office."
No, I don't.
And you don't have to either.  (While I was looking for a picture to illustrate my point, I came across this little gem....



Wow.
President is just a job.
It's a job that has great fringe benefits and staggering opportunities for graft.
IMHO, we'll all be better off when we stop thinking of elected politicians as "leaders" and think of them as referees, rent-a-cops, and infrastructure maintenance contractors.
Seriously....  "Respect for the office" has led more soldiers to an early death then any other flawed belief system.  It's a holdover cliche from the "divine right of kings" era.
The President Of The USA is someone who put together a coalition of rent-seekers, grievance-mongers, parasites, theocrats and military spending enthusiasts for the purpose of winning a beauty contest called an "election".
All that having been said, you might not respect me, my opinions, or blogging in general, but I'm a blogger and this is my blog.
And you've got to respect the office....

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