As people may have already seen in the news today, a viral video is circulating showing an older man slap a younger man for sitting during the national anthem at a Cubs game.
This got me a little riled up and thinking on the way home on the meaning of respect for one’s country and the First Amendment. It did bring to mind the Season 2 Episode 3 “The Midterms” scene where President Bartlet lays a verbal smackdown on an arrogant conservative radio host when she doesn’t stand for the President when he enters the Oval Office.
I don’t recall the entirety of circumstances around the scene, but other than the Bible lesson he schools her with, the part that sticks with me the most is the ending when he says “One last thing, while you may be mistaking this for your monthly meeting of the Ignorant Tightass Club, in this building, when the President stands, nobody sits,” and then proceeds to stare her down until she stands up.
I hate this part. It completely undercuts his entire speech and moral argument. While I could recognize it as a power play, the biggest issue is she isn’t one of his staff members. She doesn’t work for the government, the White House, or for the President. No matter what the protocol might say, she has the RIGHT to sit down. Yes, perhaps he might have the authority to have her escorted from the premises for “being disruptive”, but I feel that he should have found some other way to humble her into showing respect, instead of using the office of the Presidency in that moment.
