A Nation Divided

A few weeks ago, my son, Andrew, and I rushed to the movie theater to to see the highly acclaimed Lee Daniels' The Butler.  Andrew enjoyed the flick and I was, quite frankly, historically enlightened and impressed. The movie really taught a great deal about 8 different presidential administrations.

That being said, as is usually the case, history opens itself up for more than one interpretation and many more emotions...

Word has it that Ronald Reagan's son, Michael, was a dissatisfied viewer, having taken offense at what he believed was his father being portrayed as a cold-hearted, uncaring president.

I've got to tell you. I'm not really sure how Mr. Reagan drew that conclusion, but I beg to differ...

In the film, Ronald Reagan is seen as a thoughtful, caring man who wasn't afraid to note his own shortcomings or admit he'd erred.  He was close to his head butler, Cecil Gaines, and Reagan wasn't afraid to confide in him or ask his advice. President Reagan also advocated equal-pay distribution to his White House Staff and wasn't afraid to pull rank on anyone who challenged that belief.

During the latter part of his tenure as a White-House servant, Cecil Gaines asked his long-standing, narrow-minded immediate supervisor for a pay increase which would, in fact, only put him at an equal wage to his co-workers.  It was no surprise, when the supervisor not only denied Gaines, but told him to find another job elsewhere.

As most of us sat with our mouths agape, I am sure viewers applauded, when Gaines responded, "The President said for you to take it up with him when I told him you'd say that!"

And, I am sure we applauded even louder when we saw Gaines, still employed at the White House, in the very next scene.

It makes me think.

Several years ago, after Senator Edward Kennedy's death, Nancy Reagan expressed her deep sorrow to see her husband's dear friend pass away. Mrs. Reagan said when both men were alive and healthy, Senator Kennedy and President Reagan were good friends, with Kennedy and his wife having taken frequent trips to the Reagans' ranch in California where both couples enjoyed each others' company.

Of the fact that Edward Kennedy was a self-proclaimed liberal and Ronald Reagan a self-proclaimed conservative? "Teddy didn't care, and Ronnie didn't care," Mrs. Reagan tells us.

The fact that they were engaged in continual political wars against each other? Didn't matter, according to Mrs. Reagan.

People were kinder then. People didn't make politics personal. People respected each other, if not each others' politics.

But, gone are the days of Ronald Reagan and Edward Kennedy.


Likewise, I am always amazed when anyone speaks negatively about President Jimmy Carter. I mean, really?

A brilliant physicist who teaches science at the highly rated Emory University. A man who is so fundamentally good that he won the Nobel Peace Award. A self-described Christian who gets out there and builds homes with his own hands for the the Habitat for Humanity.

If that man isn't good enough, then I don't know who is.

But, gone are the days of that kind, southern president named James Earl Carter.



Gone, even, are the days when former presidents, on the opposite sides of the political spectrum can forge a friendship and enjoy each others' company as did Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush.

Today, as I am sure most of  us are aware, politics are just nasty. And, they are no longer for the People. Or by the People. Or even moderately relative to the People.

I mean really. Politics are as divided and nasty as I am sure any of us have seen them.  And, if nobody wants to see anyone else's perspective, how can we raise our next generation to do so? How do our leaders expect to merit respect when they cannot even respect each other anymore?




In 2008, my oldest son really tuned in, for the first time, to a presidential election. He would tell anyone who asked that he much respected both candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. (And he still does.)  McCain for his many years of service to our nation and the honorable way he always speaks his mind (even if it makes him unpopular among his constituents),  and Obama for the way he started with nothing and became something. The way he studied his way from the poor house to the White House.

Do you remember, during the 2008 election, that Alfred E. Smith dinner that both candidates were required to attend? Remember the jokes they told, not only about each other, but about themselves? Remember how they enjoyed each other, and even seemed to understand a little about the other?

That is because, in that evening, heated politicians were showing respect.

But, sadly, gone is even the evening of the 2008 Alfred E. Smith dinner.


Our government is in shambles and our nation is falling apart. Nobody wants to compromise. Nobody thinks the other side might have an idea worth incorporating. And, nobody respects anybody anymore.

I have a strong party affiliation, but I won't mention it here. Quite frankly, it isn't relevant. What's relevant is that we get this nation back on track.


I want my children to respect their leaders, so when will they start respecting each other again?