Image captured from a Yahoo.com news article.
This is not a political rant. I am not taking issue with Democrats (or Republicans) on the issues addressed during the presidential race being fought right now. No, my issue is with how Joe Biden acted last night in the debate with Paul Ryan.
We are a conservative family. We strongly believe in the rights of individuals. We teach our children that they are not “owed” anything, other than freedom and respect. They are taught that respect is something we show everyone, despite their beliefs or opinions.
Some of our extended family members whom my children are exposed to tend to belittle the democrats, especially President Obama. When I hear my children start to mimic those sentiments, I quickly correct them. We can disagree with President Obama, but we will not ridicule him. The office of the Presidency of the United States deserves our respect.
However, it is not just elected officials we show respect to; we show respect to everyone. Our children are taught (and modeled by my husband and I) to show respect to those they are talking with, to not sneer, roll their eyes, be condescending or other things that will belittle the other person.
This morning I was aghast as I watched replays of the debate that Vice President Joe Biden did all of those things during the debate. I was shocked and angry that such a high-ranking public official would treat their debate opponent that way AND on national television, when impressionable teenagers and young adults are watching. What kind of role model was he?
If you are a teen or young adult, please do not think that how Vice President Biden acted was okay and that you can act similarly in the future. If you are a parent and your children saw the debate, please let them know that is not how we should treat other people.
I agree — we teach our children the same thing. We teach them that they are not allowed to roll eyes or be condescending. It saddens me to think that he did this on TV for all to see. We aren’t going to agree with everything that a person does, but we can be respectful.
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
Not trying to be snarky….but did you see how Mitt Romney treated both the President and the moderator at the last debate(Tuesday night)? I thought he was very rude and condescending….and that moment when he gave the President the death stare….like I’ve got you now. Maybe in your circles you don’t hear the vitriol and hatred that people all over the country have towards this president….I hear it and I live right smack in the middle of the Bible belt.
I’m sorry…I read your blog once again and saw what I missed the first time….the comments you made about teaching your children about respecting the office of the president and that you also have people who you hear say mean and horrible things about Democrats and our president. I’m more of a moderate liberal and when I hear people say that I don’t love my country and I’m not a patriot just because I’m not conservative, it distrubs me greatly.
Mary, I agree with you that Mr. Romney did not behave as he should (nor did Mr. President). I was sadly disappointed by them both. Honestly, I don’t understand why they couldn’t let each other finish their sentences. Not only was it rude to each other, it was frustrating to viewers, and a terrible example for young people.
About your last statement – I am not one who believes that everyone must be conservative. Quite the contrary, I think it’s healthy and to our advantage that our country has differing views and opinions. America was built on diversity and that should not change.
For what it’s worth, I’m probably a liberal conservative.
I probably feel stronger about environmental and gun control issues that most Republicans.