(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Title term limits [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-01-01 America is a constitutional republic, but you would never know it by the way out-of-office politicians are addressed on the major television news networks. Whether it’s from the mouth of Sean Hannity or Joy Reid, politicians are routinely addressed by the titles of offices they have long since vacated. Thus, Newt Gingrich is still called “Mr. Speaker,” Donald Trump “Mr. President,” and Jesse Ventura “Governor Ventura.” The misuse of titles is a late 20th century phenomenon that is elitism personified because it conveys a subtle and unearned gravitas upon the interviewee that only registers on a television viewer’s subconscious. Though the Constitution forbids the granting of titles of nobility, the misapplication of politicians’ former honorifics implies that temporary ranks have become life-long entitlements. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton warned in The Federalist Papers of the dangers of anything tainted with hereditary privilege and enduring favoritism. Forms of address were important to the Founders because high flown or misused ones suggested a latent form of monarchy, and a crawling, fawning attitude on the part of the addressors. A heated debate broke out about how our first president was to be addressed. “His Exalted Highness,” “His Elective Highness,” and “His Excellent Highness” were rejected in favor of the simple, egalitarian “Mr. President” — a designation that was to be used only during the term of office. George Washington reverted to “General Washington” upon leaving office; President Adams and President Jefferson went back to being plain “Mr. Adams” and “Mr. Jefferson”. The idea that a temporary rank would become a lifetime appellation would have appalled all three. The Founders did not intend for permanent politicians to become the de facto royalty of America, nor did they intend permanent titles. They envisioned a turn-style system that brought average citizens into government and then returned them back to the general citizenry when their terms were done. An elected official was supposed to present the ideals of the people from which he came, not those of an entitled governing class. Becoming a plain “mister” after leaving government service was designed to reflect that perspective. The “temp agency” philosophy of the Founders is well illustrated in the early US Navy. The Navy had no admirals until the Civil War and instead employed a system of commodores. While a commodore functioned as one star admiral, it was a temporary appointment rather than a rank and denoted a senior captain in command of a squadron of ships for the duration of the deployment. Commodore Preble in the Barbary Wars was a famous example. Preble was addressed as “Commodore” on active service, but when he relinquished command, he returned to being addressed as “Captain”. Retired generals and admirals fall into a different category because their retired rank can become an active one. If they have logged twenty years of active duty, they can be recalled to service at any time, though it is extremely unlikely. Washington’s appellation of “General” after his presidency followed a long British tradition: Members of Parliament never used their governmental titles after leaving office, but frequently identified themselves with their military ones. No parallel tradition exists for the continued use of civilian office titles. Britons were appalled when American television kept referring to “Prime Minister Tony Blair” during a visit to Washington years after he had occupied that office. Such a practice is misleading to audiences and viewers, especially young viewers, and it is downright rude to the person actually holding the office. Alexis De Tocqueville remarked that “in America, every man thinks himself as good as the next.” The sycophantic misuse of honorifics on television and on radio talk shows suggests that a given politician is better than the next man. It is time to demand that tv networks to impose “title term limits” on politicians. Unless the words “emeritus” or “retired” are employed to reference former posts, a politician on television should be addressed by the honorific of office only when he is actively performing its duties. The misuse of office honorifics is not as trifling as it first appears. The death of a republic is more often accomplished by a thousand small cuts than one great stroke. Giving unearned respect to a class of people with already swollen egos it cheapens discourse and becomes part of a pattern that makes the absurd acceptable. Voltaire warned that “those who can be made to believe absurdities can be made to commit atrocities.” Consider, then, the absurdity of calling convicted pedophile Dennis Hastert “Mr. Speaker” during a prison interview! And no one likes a quitter, but Sarah Palin is still referred to as “Governor Palin” by Republicans, even though she quit halfway through her term. And she receives a handsome annual “pension” for her “service” paid at taxpayer expense by persons who have to work decades to earn a much smaller pension. Every person who ever served even a partial term in office, even the convicted criminals, are paid these lavish, lifelong pensions which include medical benefits the likes of which no insurance company in the world provides to “mere” citizens. Conman George Santos has admitted his primary motivation for running was to get a Congressional pension and health insurance. Calling former elected officials by former title subtle way of “Justifying” this blatant elitism by suggesting they are still doing the work and therefore still deserve the pay and perks. In an era where bipartisanship has become a chimera, refining the use of office honorifics is a cause both the Left and the Right should embrace. Doing so would be a clear and unequivocal return to the intent of the Founding Fathers who preferred modesty over ostentation. Imposing title term limits would help reduce pompous politicians to more human dimensions. This is a form of Originalism that the country truly needs. 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