What Ever Happened to Respect?

I have a neighbor who proudly flies an "F*** Biden" flag in his front yard. Not a “Let’s Go, Brandon” flag, an actual flag with the F word on full display. And we have kids who live in our neighborhood. He has kids. I’m shocked, but I shouldn’t be. I’ve watched this growing over the past few years, this complete and total lack of respect for the office of the Presidency. And I know just who to hold responsible.

I place full blame on the Democratic Party, Liberals, and the Mainstream Media (which on a Venn Diagram would be pretty close to a perfect circle). If you don’t believe me, go back and examine the way these three groups attacked President Donald Trump for the four years he held the office, and compare that to the treatment of previous administrations. Now, I’m not claiming he didn’t say and do plenty that deserved criticism, but never in my lifetime have I ever witnessed the kind of overt disrespect for the occupant of the Oval Office.

And some of those who preceded him clearly did not always deserve our respect. Nixon (likely) committed criminal acts while President. Clinton committed adultery, probably right in the Oval Office! Obama managed to keep a lid on most of his scandals without facing the wrath of the press, but Trump was given zero respect (and tons of disrespect) for four years. And again, I’m talking about the elected leader of our country.

Many of you may still recall when a member of Congress blurted out “you lie” during an Obama joint session address. People were shocked! The House wasted no time in voting to issue a formal rebuke to the offending Representative. House chastises South Carolina representative who called Obama a liar | US news | The Guardian How dare someone treat the President that way!

Until Trump! Democrats and the MSM openly called him a liar on an almost daily basis for his entire term. Read the first paragraph alone of the following article if you want just a sampling of the treatment he received. Why the Media Must Call President Trump a Liar (esquire.com) On one particular occasion, a sitting member of Congress called President Trump a “Motherf***r” in a public statement and was roundly applauded by her colleagues and the media. Seriously? No censure, no rebuke, no action whatsoever? US Congresswoman calls Trump a motherf***** (yahoo.com)

Now, I’m not talking about the tabloids, or social media which often features hilarious memes and sarcastic comments directed toward various celebrities and politicians. I’m talking about the Mainstream Media - respected newspapers and the nightly network news! And of course, the talk shows and reward shows or basically anytime that a Liberal celebrity gets in front of a microphone. But for those closer to my generation, can you imagine Walter Cronkite calling a sitting President a liar? I can’t.

As a public school teacher, I often lectured unruly students on the concept of respect for authority. Despite their personal opinions of me (or other teachers or school personnel), we deserved at least a minimum of respect as the person of authority in the classroom. Even if they did not respect us, they could not openly be disrespectful to us. It was simply not acceptable behavior. The same rules should apply throughout our society.

As Christians, we are instructed by the apostle Paul to submit to governing authorities which are established by God. (Romans 13: 1-7) And submission implies at least civility, if not respect. Do you think God was surprised by the election of Donald Trump? Or Joe Biden? We may have been, but He wasn’t! And if these are authorities that He has established or instituted, shouldn’t we accept and then respect those persons of authority? Of course, we should.

So, I don’t fly vulgar flags. Or proclaim “Let’s Go, Brandon.” (Even though I find the origin of that particular phrase hilarious!) I choose to respect the office. I’m an American, and regardless of who I did or didn’t vote for or support, Joe Biden is my President. And I have enough love for my country to not be disrespectful to our elected leader. Just saying.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read! Have a great week and let me know what you think!

NFL Summary

Here are my thoughts on the No Fun League 2022!

For many years, I was a true fan of the NFL and I watched a lot of games. These days, not so much. I don’t watch the regular season at all. Honestly, I can’t stand all the political messaging. The whole league is still too woke for me, but I do love the game, so I find myself watching the highlights quite often. Of course, if my Texans would stop playing Pop Warner and get back to being a professional team, that would definitely help! At least, we have a real coach now. Good luck, Lovie Smith! (Although, in all honesty, David Culley did a really good job considering the roster they gave him.)

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I know everybody was amazed by all the great playoff games and the awesome comebacks, but as for me – not so much. Truthfully, I had the opposite reaction. I kept asking myself why nobody can play defense anymore. Seriously.

The Chiefs drive down and score, and then their defense can’t make a stop to win the game? The Bills drive down and score, and then their defense can’t even hold a lead for 13 seconds?

Tom Brady takes his team down the field to tie the score with under two minutes to play and force overtime, but no, the defense can’t seem to cover the other team’s star receiver (the one that everyone in the stadium knows is going to be the QB’s target) and they give up two big receptions, a field goal, and lose.

The Packers lead the whole game until their special teams give up a score, then their defense can’t stop the 49ers from marching down the field for the go ahead field goal. And speaking of the 49ers – they lead the Cowboys the whole game until they try to give it away in the final minutes. Of course, Dallas completely botches the ending, but that’s a whole nother story. Happy ending though, for us Cowboy Haters!

And then, there’s the Super Bowl. The Bengals lead the whole second half while the Rams offense does nothing, then the Cincinnati defense, when it matters the most, can’t get a stop, and the Rams drive down the field and score. (Aided of course, by the officials who decided to start calling penalties and giving the Rams multiple chances to score.) I fully expected the Bengals to march right back down the field in the final minute to score and win the game, but amazingly enough, the Rams defense held, and for that reason alone, I suppose, they deserved to win the Championship! Finally, a defense that could hold the lead for a minute or two.

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Hearing the whole “NFL is like a Plantation” nonsense again. Bad analogy. I get the “all white owners and majority African-American players” thing, and I agree there really should be more minority coaches, executives, and even owners, but a plantation? Where do I sign up to be a slave who makes millions of dollars to play a game I love? Just saying. Maybe CK has the answer. Isn’t he the first “slave” to escape and then sue the owners to try and get back on the plantation?

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And finally, the sports talk guys are having big arguments over whether or not Matthew Stafford should now be considered a Hall of Famer. No.

Consider the following, and I didn’t even have to research these guys (only to check dates). These are the ones that sprang immediately to mind just from being a fan for many years.

1989 - Troy Aikman, drafted number one, going obviously to the team with the worst record in the league, suffers a winless first season and gets killed for years. Eventually he leads his team to three Super Bowl victories. Hall of Famer? Yes.

1998 - Peyton Manning, drafted number one by the league’s worst team. Gets mauled early on, very few wins, eventually leads his team to numerous playoff wins and a Super Bowl. Hall of Famer? Yes.

2012 - Andrew Luck, drafted number one, takes over a team that finished 2-14 the previous season, and leads them to 11 wins and the first of several playoff appearances.

2016 - Jared Goff, drafted number one, takes his team to the Super Bowl by year three.

2020 - Joe Burrow, drafted number one, gets hurt and misses most of his rookie season, and then leads his team to the Super Bowl in only his second season.

By comparison, Matthew Stafford, drafted number one back in 2009, spends 13 seasons in Detroit, leads his team to 3 playoff losses and no wins, jumps to a team that played in a Super Bowl just a few seasons before (led by the aforementioned Goff) and wins a Super Bowl. Hall of Famer? Again, no.

How many QBs are there in the NFL that could have led that particular team to the Super Bowl? Quite a few, in my opinion. Maybe if Stafford wins a few more Super Bowls, I’ll think differently, but at this point, I don’t think so.

Anyway, those are my thoughts about the latest NFL season. Let me know what you think and have a great week!