Early this week, Republican South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson called Democratic President Barack Obama a liar. You might think it was no big deal. Politicians are constantly getting on each other. True. However, this particular statement wasn't in some political campaign or private setting. It was during the middle of the President's address to Congress, that Congressman Wilson released his outburst. He later apologized for the remark. There are some lessons to be learned from this:
- We don't heckle the President. We may not agree with the President on all sorts of issues, but we maintain respect for the office. If anything, we maintain this respect so that others will do the same when our preferred candidate holds the office and theirs does not. In eight years of George W. Bush, not once did a Democrat shout out during one of his congressional addresses. In eight years of Bill Clinton, not once did a Republican shout out during one of his congressional addresses. It's just not done. We are supposed to expect a higher level of professionalism from our elected officials.
- He apologized for his actions, but then went on for days to explain why he did it and justify his actions. Here's the deal, and you can listen up too Hollywood. And America. We have gotten FAR too accepting of apologies from celebrities and politicians. Apologies we ALL know they don't mean. They aren't sorry for doing something. They are sorry for getting caught or for ruining their own credibility/reputation. Joe Wilson isn't sorry for his remarks. He's sorry about all the backlash, and he apologized in an effort to get people off of his back. The point is, what's said is said, and it can't be taken back by an apology. Each and every one of us is to blame for letting them get away with this.
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