Going too far

The President of the United States was booed at a World Series baseball game. Reportedly, the majority of the crowd participated. They also yelled in unison, “Lock him up.” This chant comes from Trump’s own words when he repeatedly said Hillary Clinton should be locked up.

Fans in the stadium apparently also made extemporaneous signs calling for his impeachment.

Remember this was at a World Series game. Such things get us nowhere, except to make matters worse.

Sadly, even a World Series game is not immune from the widening disparity of opinions in the country.

Yet, the unrestrained openness of the reaction to Trump attending the game is not entirely the fault of the fans.

The president has repeatedly outraged, insulted and demeaned opponents and those who disagree with him. The chants and signs are just returning the favor to him.

However, it does show how effective his tone and demeanor are. It is almost as if he has given the rest of the country a green light to behave just as he does.

The problem is that by acting and behaving this way, those participants only feed the separation and distrust between the political camps.

It has been said that the president of the United States should set an example and encourage the country to seek higher ground and loftier goals. The chants at the game show that an example has been set by Trump, and that example is not good.

Emotions, protests and disagreements are not new to American politics. What seems to be new is the utter disrespect shown to a sitting president. What is new is the cost that has on respecting the office of the presidency. A president has always been a target of those who disagree with him. That is part of the price of winning the office.

What is happening now is that many who defame the president are also weakening the respect traditionally held for the office. The same is happening to other fundamental institutions of the country.

It is doing the nation more harm than it is doing to Trump. He seemed unfazed.

There are ways to confront the issues facing the nation, without turning every activity into political soap box.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher