I have a healthy respect for our military and rightly so. These people endure pain, every environmental condition known to man, and months or years away from their families as they tackle problems and issues that no one else can.
The Army Corps of Engineers is no exception. These people spend their lives building, fixing and improving infrastructure and waterways to better serve the cities and communities.
That's why this video irritates me so much.
Don't get me wrong, you should address a senator as senator, however, it is really about respect. I heard other audio yesterday of the General addressing other senators and he intermixed senator and sir/ma'am. It was appropriate. It was respectful.
Senator Boxer was not. I certainly hope during the rest of her questioning she respectfully referred to him as General, since he has obviously worked so hard, not for the title, but for the PEOPLE of this country.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Contempt
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4 comments:
Lets evaluate these two people's positions: A General in the Army needs at least a four year college degree, needs to have served in different capacities, must have served at least 14 years in lower ranks (forget the Civil War rank structure and some staff corps officers), and successfully impressed his seniors and peers; A senator must be a certain minimum age (don't know what that is presently-- probably 16 to 20 years old- based upon their present skill levels), and get themselves elected by a majority of one vote in their home State.
Now, you tell me who deserves the most respect!
It's the difference between someone earning respect and someone demanding that it be given them.
I believe our elected officials have lost all common sense and just do not know how to conduct themselves. They need to be admonished when they do something wrong and praised when they do something right. So I've decided I'm going to start writing, calling, and contacting them everytime they do something that I truly don't agree with or something that they've done outstandingly right. Yes, I'm going to be doing a lot of writing. The bottom line is they work for us and we need to show our approval or disapproval just like you would do for any employee, and of course do it with respect.
Below is my message to the senator. FYI, to write Senator Boxer go to
http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm
Dear Senator Boxer,
I truly believe you owe a public apology to Brigadier General Michael Walsh and all service men and women for the condescending tone you used in questioning Brigadier General Walsh at the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee.
It is common knowledge that military men and women are trained to address their superiors as "sir" and "ma'am." He was actually showing respect.
I believe that everyone, especially those in government, need to put aside their titles, practice humility, and work together to save our country.
By apologizing to Brigadier General Walsh, you would demonstrate humility, understanding, and respect. You would show that you are humble enough to admit your tone was not conducive to the interview. You would show you understand the military instills respect for superiors at every level. Finally, you would show a respect that the general was showing for you.
Best regards,
Ricardo Luevanos, U.S.C.(United States Citizen)
Go Rick!
Great idea.
I hope the dogs don't miss you too much while you are writing.
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