I fear that such rituals developsubservience and a free people should not develop subservience to politicians. American politicians should be treated by Americans the same as anyone else. They’re politicians for God’s sake. Don’t stand up for them. Don’t stand in line to shake their hand. Don’t call them "Mr. President." Say, "George, how are you going to get us out of this mess you created in Iraq?"
Screw him if he can’t take it. Who cares about his feelings?
Oh, you say that we follow this ritual to instill respect for our leaders. But why? Why should we automatically respect our head politician? What automatically makes a man great for winning an election?
If the American press corp had never have stood up for George W. Bush, we might never have gotten into this mess in Iraq.
The British press don’t stand for their prime minister nor for our president and they are right.
The problem is that the American political system combines the head of state with the head of government while the Brits separate things (the Queen is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government).
Remember, a president is just another politician. He doesn’t deserve special treatment.
Some prestigious news organization needs to appoint me to the White House beat and I’d soon sort those wankers out.
In Orthodox Jewish life, the Modern Orthodox have started following the charedi practice of standing up when eminent rabbis enter a room. I do this at times, but only if I believe the particular rabbi deserves it (and not many do). If my job was to report on such a rabbi, I would not stand (because that act develops a feeling of subservience and who needs that in a reporter?).
In the book of Esther, Mordecai the Jew risked his life rather than change his posture before Haman, the prime minister of Persia.
We should follow Mordecai’s example and only bend our knee before God.
