David Jenkins: Childish behavior by U.S. politicians needs to stop

When I was in the third grade, I wrote an essay on baseball. It was great writing, complete with why I liked baseball and why I was going to be a professional baseball player. I was proud of that essay and was sure I was going to get an A.

My teacher, however, didn’t like it quite as much as I did and gave me a B+. On it she wrote some sort of note explaining her grade that I have forgotten over time. But what I do remember is getting up for recess, wading up the paper and throwing it in the trash can while the teacher watched.

It was a lot like Nancy Pelosi ripping up the State of the Union speech Tuesday night after the President delivered the speech. Only one big difference is I was in the third grade, completely immature and just learning how to handle myself. Pelosi is a grown woman, in the public eye representing the Democratic Party and throwing a temper tantrum in front of millions of people.

It is just the latest example of how our politicians are nothing but children, pouting and throwing tantrums when they don’t get their way. And it is shameful what our leaders have become.

While he has done some good things while in office, Trump’s childish actions are unprecedented. Never have we had a Commander-in-Chief act in such a way. From claims he makes, to things he sends out on social media to his actions, I cringe every time I hear the common phrase, “Did you hear what Trump did…?”

And the Democrats are quick to jump on him for every comment, tweet and childish action. But then they turn around and aren’t any better. Pelosi has had numerous opportunities to take the high road but instead, she acts just as childish.

There was no need to act the way she did Tuesday night, with making faces and then tearing up the speech. The American public knows she and the Democratic Party doesn’t like the President and after the speech she has an opportunity to put out a statement saying what she didn’t agree with in the speech. It’s happened for every State of the Union.

But her antics after the speech overshadowed what the President even said. Nobody is talking about the speech or the contents of the speech, just that Pelosi looked like a child tearing up the speech. In her anger of disagreeing with the President, she took the focus off of him and put a negative focus on herself and the Democratic Party. This on the heels of the Iowa Caucus fiasco and just ahead of Trump inevitably being acquitted of charges in the Senate.

I believe you can walk onto an elementary school playground and see more civility and maturity than you can in our highest levels of government. And that should be an embarrassment to those in government, but they are too self involved and egomaniacal to even care. Yet, we keep voting them into office.

My third grade teacher pulled me aside and gave me a stern lecture on respect after seeing me throw my essay into the trash. It is a talk that has stuck with me my entire life. Treat people with respect if you want them to respect you.

Unfortunately our leaders don’t treat people with respect and in the process they are losing our respect. That isn’t a way to run a country. Maybe they should go back to third grade and learn how to act. Of course third grade teachers would be wanting to bring back paddling in schools if they had to deal with Trump and Pelosi every day.

David Jenkins is co-editor of the Standard Democrat.