Dear Mr. President,

I am a blogger and a mother. As a mother, one of my hardest lessons has been that the age-old saying "Do as I say, not as I do" is hard to follow. Right now, my almost 4 year old is struggling with the concept of keeping his hands to himself. He has earned many a timeout for being overly affectionate with his brother (much like I understand you are at the White House) without his permission and refusing to respect his personal space when told to do so. Yet, I find myself coming up to him and tousling his hair unexpectedly and without his permission. While it is a pretty common act for a parent, it's hypocritical of me. I really need to ask his permission first. Not only is that fair to him, but it allows me to model the behavior that I expect him to display.



As a blogger, I enjoy reading posts that model the behavior online that I hope others display in the blogosphere. I have read posts over the last eleven months that have described parenting practices and lifestyle choices that differ from my own. When reading about such subjects, I try to keep in mind that everyone has a right to make the decisions that are best for their families and themselves. Don't get me wrong, on more than one occasion, I've read something that I think is just plain nuts. I've also disagreed with posts written by other bloggers. What I like about the blogosphere is that I feel it's one of the few places where there truly is free speech. As a blogger, you can say what you want when you want. You are your own publisher. However, the freedom to say anything does not mean that you should say just anything. There are times that I am disturbed by posts or comments in the blogosphere. Thankfully I haven't seen a ton of disruptive and negative behavior, but a single negative comment can change the tone of an entire post or series of posts.



As the president, every speech you deliver sets the tone for our entire nation, and you are positioned to act as a role model for all of us. As such you should act with dignity and grace. You can be a strong leader while treating those who disagree with you and viewpoints that differ from your own with respect. You cannot be a positive leader without treating others with respect. Slamming other people down is not appropriate. How can we as a society be expected to treat each other with respect if our leader, our president, cannot do so? As president, all eyes and ears are on you. I hope you understand that.



On a final note, please remember to ask permission before tousling anyone's hair.



Sincerely, Alex Elliot



P.S. I hope this post itself doesn't set a bad example.



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My name is Alex Elliot. I am a professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a preschooler and a toddler. While I am hanging out with the Cool Zebras as part of this month's blog exchange. Heather is hanging out with the giraffes at my blog, Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting. Go check out Heather's special presidential tribute!