Respecting authority

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I remember when Jimmy Carter won the presidency in 1976. My parents were not big Gerald Ford supporters. They were fans of Ronald Reagan (as I was too. I was a junior high school nerd. Different column). My parents were very politically active then, and that was a heartbreaking election for them and even me. But I'll never forget my dad saying, a few months later, "well, Jimmy Carter is our president now, and we have to respect him. That's what happens in a Democracy."Wow -- did that ever impact me.So here we are in 2008, and I'm giving the same speech to my kids. Let's just say I had to rehearse it a few times. (Let's just also say that the relative calmness and equanimity, even graciousness, with which conservatives in general have greeted the Obama win after a hard fought fight, is in stark contrast with the raging hostility that typically greets Republican Presidential victories. I particularly remember the "world is ending" mass freak-out by the Left after Ronald Reagan won.)Anyway, I myself am spelling out a little bit more the concept my dad was striving at: Whatever one thinks of the person who holds an office, one has to respect the office itself.That really is the difference between a civilized world, and an uncivilized one.It's also respecting authority itself. Something in which much of our culture is sorely lacking. But a concept utterly necessary to the common good. It's like this -- if a police officer pulls you over, no rational person is going to ask him if he's "earned" his authority to do so that day.They are going to respect the badge. The officer himself might be a jerk. And in extreme cases, he might be rightly removed from his position.But, he has authority not because he on his own inherently commands it, but because he's had it vested on him by his office. That understanding is fundamental to our survival.But more and more we really don't like authority in our culture unless we, well, like the authority and what it's doing for us. Going along with someone, a teacher, a boss, a baseball umpire we're happy with, whose calls serve our purposes, is just fine.Give me one I really don't like, who doesn't make things go my way? That's a whole different ball game.My kids have all had teachers they don't "like." I tell them it doesn't matter. They have to respect them anyway, they have to genuinely try to regard their teacher positively, and in fact in that way they might learn more from a teacher they don't "like" than one that they do like.Ditto a boss, for instance, in the future. In fact lots of times my kids don't "like" me. Too bad. I'm a permanent office holder in their lives.Interestingly, scripture says "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."It doesn't say God always makes sure the best guy or gal gets the job. Just that He has His purposes we can't always see, and that rightly submitting to authority (accounting for appropriate and lawful challenges and critiques of course) is good for us both practically and spiritually.So, back to Barack Obama, and what I told my kids: whether we like the person in the presidency or don't, the office of the Presidency transcends the man. And we must honor it, and by extension him.One practical application? We should genuinely hope and pray that Obama, or any president, live up to the expectations of his supporters, not his detractors.I think my kids are a little surprised at my response to all this. But it's a good lesson for them, and a good reminder for me.Thanks, dad.(Betsy Hart hosts the "It Takes a Parent" radio show on WYLL-AM 1160 in Chicago. Reach her through betsysblog.com. for more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)