A FEW months ago, one of the stories that dominated American news outlets was the heated exchange between U.S. President Barack Obama and White House correspondent, Neil Munro, after the latter interrupted the head of state during his Rose Garden press conference.

I saw one commentator making the comparison of ‘similar’ disrespect levelled at Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, by citing the booing of Bush by Obama supporters as the former President made his scheduled departure from the ceremony, and the incident where an Iraqi threw a shoe at Bush while he was holding a press conference in the capital city, Baghdad.

That’s comparing chalk and cheese – in the first instance, a victorious crowd heckling the victor’s predecessor from a different political organisation is not unprecedented; and in the second instance, we have an Iraqi citizen expressing his anger, albeit foolishly, at the leader of what was an occupying force.

In the case of Obama, what we have consistently had is an unprecedented level of disrespect levelled at the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful democracy in the world, not simply from disgruntled citizens but from people of sections of society from which respect for the Office of the President is expected to be part and parcel.

Munro, as someone cleared to cover the White House, is expected to adhere to protocol for press conferences with the President, whether these rules have been written down or not. Plain decency itself dictates that you wait until someone, anyone, finishes before you interrupt them. The thing is, this is not an isolated incident but a clear pattern of utter disrespect that Barack Obama has been subjected to since assuming office. We can disregard the Fox News propaganda pundits like Hannity, Limbaugh and company, and the Tea Party lunatics, and we would still have enough evidence of a trend.

‘In the case of Obama, what we have consistently had is an unprecedented level of disrespect levelled at the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful democracy in the world, not simply from disgruntled citizens, but from people of sections of society from which respect for the Office of the President is expected to be part and parcel’
About three years ago, the most glaring incident was when Republican Joe Wilson interrupted Obama’s State of the Union address, repeatedly shouting, “You lie, you lie!” Another politician, Arizona governor Jan Brewer was seen wagging her finger at the President either late last year or earlier this year as if he was an unruly child that she had to discipline. Another Republican lawmaker last year publicly referred to the size of Michelle Obama’s behind. While there is clearly something added that is driving this disrespect, that is something for another article: I simply wanted to focus on the surface phenomenon because it got me to thinking about our own situation here.

I recall an example that involved one of our former presidents who was attending a children’s event at the National Cultural Centre. As is protocol, at the end of the event, the audience was asked to remain seated as the President and his entourage left. The heckling that erupted from the parents, and which I believe was eventually mimicked by the children themselves, was as shameful as it was vulgar and sad.
There are several ministers whom I’ve known for years, before they assumed their current positions. I’ve had impassioned discussions with several of them over my insistence on referring to them by their official titles, Mr. or Mrs. Minister, whenever we interact. The usual counter I hear is that this sort of thing became a standard in the Burnham era with the implication, if I’m reading it correctly, that calling someone you know by their title was more a sign of authoritarianism than it was a true sign of respect.
My point, and I remain adamant about this, is that it does not matter whether we used to hang out til day-break drinking beers and talking nonsense before you became a member of cabinet – on assuming office, you are owed the respect of being addressed properly. This also extends to people whom I may not be on the best of terms with as well.

The incident at the National Cultural Centre aside, I cannot readily think of any similar infringements of or opposition to protocol occurring in the recent past, at least not on the level of those against the Obama presidency. Our leaders may argue tooth and nail against each other both in and out of parliament, but overall there remains an environment of civility in public discourse that America can perhaps use as example. Our media, also, can be accused of many things – from distortion to incompetence – but for the most part a basic respect for our senior leaders from all parties prevails.

True enough, all systems break down eventually, and there may come a day when our politicians begin making thinly veiled comments on one another’s physical defects or engage in open discussion of the size of the posteriors of their opponent’s spouses. That said, I don’t think we’ve reached the zenith when it comes to politics and civility in Guyana. Children joining their parents in heckling the nation’s leader may have been a step in the wrong direction, but we can take heart that this seems a sole exception to the rule. To be continued.