It's Tough To Get Respect

I guess it's a function of growing older, this feeling I have that we are becoming less and less civil as a culture.

I remember my parents used to say the same things, and I'm sure parents have been saying the same thing since one generation after the dawn of parenthood.

Having said all that, however, it certainly does seem to me that what used to be considered boorish is becoming accepted behavior.

I see fewer and fewer men opening doors for women.

I see more and more men wearing hats indoors or while they eat.

I realize these things are trivial, but I think they're symptomatic of a swing away from a kinder, gentler culture.

People seem more in a hurry, more likely to become engaged in road rage, more likely to yell at a store clerk, more likely to be intolerant.

Patriotism seems to be waning a bit, too.

The further we become removed from "the greatest generation" - that's the generation that stopped Hitler - the less the next generation gets it.

I don't believe the current generation has the same sense of respect for their elders and their leaders as did the generation before them.

Lots of them have to be prodded to remove their hats or put their hand over their hearts during the National Anthem.

And how many times have you heard the National Anthem butchered on national television by some pop star who thinks his or her rendition is better than the one intended by Francis Scott Key?

Did you know, for example, that Ronald Reagan, out of respect for the tradition and history of the office, would not enter the Oval Office without wearing a jacket?

That's the kind of respect for the institution he had.

You may agree or disagree with Reagan's policies, but he certainly had a deep and abiding respect for the office he held.

Compare and contrast that with Bill Clinton who, well, we all know what he did in the Oval Office.

But it seems nobody has any respect for the president anymore, let alone the office of the president.

Lots of people belittle him and the office.

I was raised in an atmosphere where there was respect for the office of the president.

The guy is, after all, the duly elected leader of the most powerful nation in the free world.

And certainly one can be critical of a president's policies without being disrespectful.

But so often these days, the criticism comes in the form of disrespect.

We've even coined a new term for it - dissing.

There is a cottage industry of W dissing going on in this country.

People like Jon Stewart make a more-than-comfortable living disrespecting the president.

I will concede that the blunders of the current administration warrant some pretty severe criticism, but the smugness and the sarcasm sometimes seems over the top.

The arguments often degenerate into personal attacks and degradation.

And the media doesn't help.

What gets passed off as news these days is far from news. It's fraught with opinion, conjecture and speculation.

And worse is the fact that lots of young people get their news from sources like Stewart who fully believes it's cool to be disrespectful.

And he has legions of fans who feel the same way.

So it's no wonder really, that so many people show little or no respect for the president or the flag.

They've grown up in an atmosphere where disrespect is the norm.

And anytime anyone tries to do anything to turn it around, there is a chorus of wailing from the left about how rights are being trampled.

Just this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the green light to a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from desecration.

I know there will be plenty of people claiming the amendment is unconstitutional because burning flags is protected freedom of speech.

And then they say something like this: "People in this country fought and died to protect our right to burn the flag in protest."

Really?

Well, I say, let's ask them.

Ask veterans what they think about burning the flag they fought to defend.

Ask them if they think burning a flag is protected free speech.

Because if anybody should get to decide such things, it's veterans.

I would be willing to bet the vast majority of veterans would believe the flag should be protected.

And why not? Is there nothing worthy of reverence and protection?

Apparently not. Seems like in today's America, virtually everything must be held up to scorn, ridicule or desecration.

America has this Rodney Dangerfield vibe these days. It's tough to get respect.