In My Own Shoes: Some of us need a good spanking!

Years ago it wasn’t called “child abuse,” but then we got soft. And politically correct. Eventually leading to just plain stupid.

If I start on spanking, I know I will sharply divide this readership. Not that it’s necessarily a bad thing to foster division, but that’s not what I’m going for. You’ll note that this column always appears on this page because this is the OpEd portion of our newspaper. Technically, in the world of journalism, OpEd stands for commentary opposite the editorial page, but more often than not, opinion pieces appear right along with editorials. So when I speak of spanking or anything else for that matter, that is MY opinion, and you’re always welcome to challenge it, throw down the paper in disgust, or contact me and tell me what a freaking wonder I am. My friend, Ted, tells of growing up as one of three boys all born within five years and always doing “stupid things” that got them whacked by their mother with a wooden spoon which would eventually break from all the activity.

I was raised in the ’50s, and yes, I was spanked. Not often, and not anything that left indelible marks on either my bottom or my psyche, but when I talked back or showed a lack of respect, there was no other solution for my father than a good whack with an open hand. My father was born at a time when children were taught from the crib to revere their elders, not to talk back, and to honor thy father and thy mother. So when I sassed thy father, he let me have it. It worked because I still loved him, got the message, and grew up with a healthy sense of respect: for people, property, elders, and occasions.

That’s why when President Trump finished his State of the Union address in 2020 and handed a copy of the speech to Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, who promptly ripped it into pieces, I was horrified. Her “people” later walked the action back saying it was just her “anger of the moment.” But at that “moment,” the Speaker sent a clear message to all of us that one of the oldest and most storied political traditions we’ve had since Washington gave the first address in 1790 was no longer an occasion to be respected in that hallowed hall. So none of us should have been surprised when Georgia’s Congressional Representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene started yelling and heckling President Biden last month during his State of the Union Address to Congress and the nation. What message did that send to our school children? What message did that send about America to the rest of the world? In some countries, dissidents are shot on the spot for such outbursts and insubordination, but not here. We’re so liberal and have become so blase that bad behavior is no longer punished but in many circles rewarded. Rep. Greene is now fostering the idea that America should initiate a “divorce” between Republicans and Democrats, and adorable little visionary that she is predicts another Civil War. We don’t need any more orchestrated division in this country, we’re divided enough. We need to come together! Marjorie and Nancy Pelosi and so many others need to be taken to the woodshed by the very people who put them in office and gave them not just their vote, but their trust and hopes and yes, respect. People like that do not deserve respect. My father instilled in me, in between those whacks, that “respect” was not just a word, but something very precious that had to be earned; and he also taught me you may not like the person, but you must respect their position, their opinions, their badge, and their job.

Performers who make millions because we buy their tickets and their records often behave badly, then give hollow apologies. It is THEY who should be respecting and thanking US. Booing a president because we don’t agree with what he’s saying is not exercising free speech, it’s just exercising your right to be an idiot. Therefore, I propose we line them all up: actors over here, sports figures over there, politicians in that corner, those who boo and heckle in the other corner. Then come out swinging, and give them a good spanking!

Break a wooden spoon. It didn’t hurt me. Or Ted. Or his brothers.

Rona Mann has been a freelance writer for The Sun for 21 years, including her “In Their Shoes” features. She can be reached at six07co@att.net or 401-539-7762.