Opinion |

This President’s Day eve, lamenting the demise of decorum

Watching President Joe Biden deliver the State of the Union address a couple of weeks ago, I was struck but unsurprised by members of Congress shouting at him.

Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Good called Biden a “liar,” telling CNN the president deserved it for saying Republicans want cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene used the same admonishment and others. She interrupted Biden several times, yelling, “China’s spying on us!” and later, “Secure the border!”

Tennessee Republican Rep. Andy Ogles shouted, “It’s your fault!” when Biden brought up fentanyl overdose deaths. He later claimed the president could solve the problem by closing the U.S. border with Mexico, linking overdose deaths to drug trafficking.

It’s not that Republicans have cornered the market when it comes to disrespecting the president. In 2020, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, dramatically ripped up President Donald Trump’s speech — for all to see — at the conclusion of his State of the Union address.

For as long as I’ve watched the SOTU, it’s never been a kumbaya affair. Members of the president’s party give standing ovations throughout the speech; members of the opposition party sit on their hands, roll their eyes and sometimes grumble. Occasionally, they stand together — like last year, when Biden branded Vladimir Putin “a Russian dictator” and vowed to confiscate Russian oligarchs’ “ill-begotten” yachts.

But it seems to me we’ve crossed the line from dissent to disrespect. In terms of the American presidency, it’s a recent occurrence.

Fred Beuttler, a former deputy historian of the U.S. House of Representatives, told NPR the line was first breached in September 2009, when South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson yelled “You lie!” at President Barack Obama, in his address to a joint session of Congress. Obama had told the group that his health plan wouldn’t cover undocumented immigrants.

Beuttler said it was the first time a single, identifiable individual spoke out in disagreement, loudly enough for all to hear. Prior to the Wilson incident, dissension was more of a group activity: In 2004, for example, there was a chorus of boos from Democrats when President George W. Bush called for renewal of the Patriot Act in his State of the Union speech. In 2005, they shouted “No!” when Bush talked about Social Security reform.

Not so long ago, we expected a certain decorum from our leaders. Even in disagreement, they treated each other with respect. They listened to each other (or at least, pretended to).

Today’s barbs feel much more personal: Some believed that Wilson was motivated by racial animus toward Obama. Biden has been called old and feeble. Last summer, 54 House Republicans signed a letter calling for him to take a cognitive test. Trump took one on his own, to show he had the mental stamina to lead the country.

Decorum’s demise has trickled down. We see it in open forums like city council and school board meetings. “You lie” may be one of the kinder accusations leveled today; too often, public officials have reported threats to their lives or property, made by the people they serve — and just for having a different point of view. No wonder public offices go unfilled across the country.

The same holds true in youth sports. Coaches — paid and volunteer — have had their fill of parents screaming, swearing and otherwise making a spectacle of themselves, unhappy that their child isn’t getting enough playing time (or feeling they’ve been otherwise mistreated). Some leagues are requiring parents to sign contracts agreeing not to meddle, but they do it anyway.

Last weekend, I heard an interview with Natasha Johnson, mayor of nearby Lake Elsinore, where abundant rainfall is expected to yield a super bloom of orange poppies this year. Johnson made an unpopular decision to close local access roads and canyon trails so the public can only view the flowers online. (Locals supported the decision.)

Johnson explained that hundreds of thousands of people descended on Lake Elsinore in 2019, the year of the last super bloom. Lacking sufficient or suitable parking, the city provided shuttles to the poppy fields. Not everyone complied — and in the ensuing traffic mess, a California Highway Patrol officer lost his life.

The mayor described the visitors’ behavior as unfortunate and disrespectful. The entire community was gridlocked. The poppies were trampled. The cost, Johnson said, was “way too steep for our residents and our wildlife.”

As decorum continues to wane, we find ourselves with fewer role models. But seeing what not to do — and who not to emulate — may be just as useful for guiding our lives. The examples are plentiful.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com