by Mary M. Redoutey

Created on: April 22, 2008

When former President Gerald Food spoke out against the War in Iraq and when former President Jimmy Carter spoke out against President Bush's foreign policies, there were some people who said, "They shouldn't do that. They shouldn't speak out against the President."

Some people will tell you that it is "unpatriotic" to speak out against a US President while he is in office. Some will tell you that it is a form of "treason" and that "it should be punished." These people are ignorant.

The truth is that once US Presidents leave office, they are private citizens like you and me.
They may have been elected as Presidents, but they leave office and another President takes their place, they must go about their lives without the power and authority of the US President in Office.

You could compare a Former US President to a rock hero or other superstar. That Rock hero or Superstar has a lot of name recognition, an ability to get noticed and an ability to sway public opinion. When they speak out, they speak out as the rock star or as the celebrity they are. They are not prevented from doing so. They are instead often encouraged to give their opinions.

The Former US Presidents may have had an elevated past. They may have their honorary title of "Former President of the United States" and the job experience of being an elected official but they are not held to a higher standard of conduct that you and I are. There is nothing in the law to state that they cannot speak out against elected officials, including the President of the United States and there is in fact every reason they should do so if they believe him to be in error.

They are, after all part of the same club. They know what it is like to be the President of the United States. They know the challenges and the joys of public office. They know what has been done and what should be done. They have been in his shoes. They alone understand the pressures and are thus more equipt to judge him and his actions.

We need them to speak out on our behalf and to use their celebrity powers when they feel they have an obligation to speak out. They know now both sides of the coin, former elected official and citizen like us and can act sometimes as an elder statesmen, a friend of the people, an uncle to the poeple. Yet their actions of speaking out do not negate our own responsibility to also speak out.

All citizens of the United States have the same rights, or should have them, under the US Constitution. As citizens of the United States,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>