ANSWERS: 14
  • No, it's not gone. Some people think that way, but I believe that with the sheer amount of coverage on what goes on in the white house and the president's activities themselves, people are starting to disillusion themselves regarding the person in the office. Meaning, I can now say (with a straight face) that I love my country but hate my government without there being a direct conflict. Some people don't see the difference (watch and see how quickly this gets downrated) and consequently support a man who does things that they don't agree with. I don't know if I did a good job answering your question or not...
  • It's still there in the military and the military community. I hope to God that people don't still think that way in the rest of the country. You live in a republic, not a monarchy. Modernism has come and gone, you should look behind the picture you're given, not through the rifle sight of ignorance.
  • I congratulate you for asking this question. My daughter and I were discussing this just the other day. We think respect for the office of President has deteriorated, and this is a reflection of the feeling of Americans that their concerns are falling on deaf ears. I cannot remember a time when this has not been the case. At least half the country feels disenfranchised no matter who the president is. Regardless who sits in the White House, the office of the presidency of the US is heavily burdened and powerful. It's also lonely - no one who has not been in that position can imagine what it's like. There isn't really another position like it in the world, The amazing gift of the first US president, George Washington, is the peaceful transference of power from one president to the next. The "succession" is something that sets this office apart in world history and has ensured the endurance of the US Constitution. I do think that the office of President is a separate entity, apart from the person wearing the title of President. The title is a temporary conferral from the people. The office itself is a standard and represents the will of the people, is inexorably bound to the Constitution and to the values upon which the US was founded. Presidents serve by our will, and we are free to criticize them, impeach them, and let our displeasure be known. The Office of President, if not respected by the inhabitant or the people represented by it, becomes hollow. I think it's vital to recognize the distinction between the person and the office.
  • There is a difference between the Office of the President and the man in the office. Those who complain about the man do so BECAUSE of their respect for the Office- because that man is unworthy of it. As a nation, we learned how to make that distinction during the Nixon administration, and we have not forgotten that lesson.
  • No, I don't think it's gone, but there's a point and a line where you have to abandon ship. Respect the president, but when he's tipping the boat over why would you be expected to stay on ship and go down with it? If he's running my country and my life, he should do it with our interests at heart, not just his own. I cannot support someone who would "crash the ship" on purpose for his own personal gain.
  • Yes, I think it is gone (or going). Just like respect for the position of teacher, military man/woman, or preacher. Not only is there a lack of automatic respect for people in noble (or what were held to be noble) positions, but there is at times automatic disprespect due to misuse of power by people who have held these positions in the past. But it doesn't mean that 'President' shouldn't still command respect, that 'Priest' doesn't still revere God, that 'soldier' doesn't still protect and serve. We take all of those services for granted in the people who actually do those jobs, who do them correctly and honorably, and who do them without much gratitude and thanks from today's society of "expects" rather than"respects".
  • Respect for the office of the President? I think that was lost with the stain on Monica's blue dress. When the man who holds the highest office in the country has no more respect for the office than to be getting a blow job under the desk in the Oval Office, I don't think American citizens should be expected to hold any particular esteem for the position either!
  • As a former member of the US Navy, I can say that I never respected the President merely because of their title/position at ANY point in my life. I only respect those who have proven themselves worthy of respect. Might explain why I had such a hard time re-attaining E-4....
  • I think for those of us born post-Watergate, it is greatly diminished. Our parents raised us with a kind of cynicism about the Presidency that you didn't have with earlier generations. Also those of us growing up during the presidencies of Reagan, Clinton, and Bush, have seen repeated scandals of various kinds and of increasing intensity involving the President. By now it seems like business as usual for the president to be a crook, or at least not entirely respectable. I'd love for this to change, but we'd have to get a higher caliber of politician and person involved in US politics than we've had in my lifetime.
  • I don't think you are "gone" The office of President deserves the respect of all Americans. So much so that we should take more care than we have been in the past 2 or three generations with who we entrust this noble, yes I said noble office of President. Respecting authority is a good thing. That is something the generation of the 60's tragically forgot. It is not the Office we need to worry about but rather our own judgment as a country that has fallen as is evident by the poor quality of President we have elected since the beginning of the 60's. So, you are not "Gone" your country is.
  • I think it wanes when we fill the office with disrespectful men.
  • For the military, respect for the office of the President is deeply ingrained and there is good reason for this. As Commander-in-Chief, the President is at the top of the chain of command. If the military starts ignoring the chain of command, that's when juntas and military dictatorships crop up. That's the shortest and surest path to the death of our democracy. From the civilian standpoint, I think respect for the office of President has greatly diminished because the the people who have held the office recently have shown it so little respect. The GWB administration is at the pinnacle of decades of Presidents abusing the power of the office: ---Don't like a law passed by Congress? Issue a 'signing statement' saying you're going to ignore it. ---Don't like a court decision telling you that you can't torture? Simply redefine torture as 'enhanced interrogation' and carry on as before. ---Want to get rid of some US attorneys who are investigating criminal behavior by your corporate/political cronies? Slip language into a bill (without notifying Congress) that gives the President 'at will' control of attorney hiring/firing. ---etc., etc. It is difficult to respect the office when its occupants consistently treat it as a personal plaything instead of a sacred public trust.
  • as much as i dont like pres. bush, i would respect him if he were to be in my presence. not because i respect him as a person or the choices he makes, because hes the president and im just not disrespectful. not to mention, i realize that half of the stuff he says is influenced by so many others. i mean, he may be a pretty cool person once you know the real him.. but i just see him as a puppet. i dont know, wtvr, my views all wacky.
  • This is a Biblical principle that is not dead. Everyone who takes the Bible seriously should recognize the repeated theme that is exemplified in the conduct of David toward King Saul. Even when Saul's behavior was inexcusable, David refused to speak ill of the King. In the New Testament the principle is clear that governments and their officials are good for social order, exist by God's design, and are due submission and respect up to the line where some specific requirement of government violates God's specific rules. Jesus paid his taxes to Rome without condoning the use of the money or the conduct of government officials. He instructed people to do more than required when forced to carry a Roman soldier's pack - without approving the behavior of the Roman military. Only when commanded to violate specific instructions from Jesus did his disciples reply "judge for yourselves whether we should obey men rather than God." As long as most people in the USA claim Christianity and belief in the Bible, respect for the President because he is the President will remain, even if it diminishes in the culture at large. I, personally, have spoken critically of presidential decisions, comments or behaviors - but I always endeavor to do so respectfully.

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