ABSENT IN THE PRESIDENCY - THE ART OF CLASS

ABSENT IN THE PRESIDENCY - THE ART OF CLASS
by Andy Weddington
Tuesday, 02 September 2014




"Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble." John Madden




"Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can't tell whether he won or lost."

Yes, that is sportsmanship.

And class.

Those are the words of Mr. Jim Courier - a tennis champion and a class act, on and off the court.

And Mr. Courier's thought applies to the field, the pool, the track, the rink, and the golf course.

And it applies to the executive board room to the employee break room.

And it applies to everything.

And to everyone.

With hesitation I opted to write this morning's brief comment. For it must be written just so as not to breach the topic itself.

A few days back I read an article by an Obama supporter who civilly chided the president for his lack of class - golfing (and smoking and joking with his pals) only minutes after addressing the nation about the murder (beheading) of Mr. James Foley.

The author focused on the one incident. And that was bothersome. So in reply to the author...

"Class is a distinguishing trait of genuine ladies and gentlemen. It takes time and experience to acquire - and it begins during youth and is polished throughout life. The true test of class is demonstrating same, graciously - to include self-sacrifice, under the most demanding (and obvious) of circumstances. Thus, sadly, our president affirmed, yet again, he is without for the Foley blunder not the first time (e.g. flying to Las Vegas for a fundraiser morning after the Benghazi murders). Class will ever be absent. We must only wonder whom Barack Obama blames?"

And the more time spent thinking about the president's behavior the list of blunders gets rather lengthy - from excessive self-reference to referring to fellow Americans as the enemy that must be punished to prematurely weighing in on trivial social dynamics before knowing fact to cite only some.

Reality is you can give a man a heady title; bestow extraordinary power upon him; clad him in the finest of attire; enshrine him with trappings and prestige and privilege; and yet an iota of class there is not.

Practiced class becomes intuitive.

And that explains the absence in our president.

To our chagrin, routinely, America cringes and endures a social clod.

Thus our presidency, our Oval Office, our White House, momentarily suffers from a lack of grace, of elegance, of dignity, of something elite. And that to the detriment of America. The world, too.

Class is an art!   

Now to turn my attention to interesting, more important matters - art. And a class soon to be taught.

Post Script

The parents of Navy Seal (Seal Team Six) Aaron Carson Vaughn, who died on a mission in Afghanistan a few years back, have called upon President Obama to resign. As that would require class, it's not going to happen. 

http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/08/27/letter-parents-aaron-carson-vaughn-seal-team-vi-please-resign-mr-president/