Salute the Uniform

Praying for our American Presidents

02/21/2022

Rm 13:1-4 Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer.

I learned a very valuable “life lesson” while in Junior ROTC at Catholic High School. Not only did we learn to take meticulous care of our uniforms that we wore, but we also learned to show due respect for higher ranking officers. The proper form of respect was to salute a higher ranking officer when you came into close contact with them. There was a running joke among the enlisted men, though. The enlisted men’s rank – sergeant, corporal, private – was made of dull, black material. The officer’s insignia, by contrast, was made of shiny, silver or gold material. The enlisted men all agreed that the officers had shiny insignia so the enemy could see them from a distance and shoot them first.

In any case, a lower ranking soldier should always stop and salute a higher ranking officer. The maxim was: “You salute the uniform, not the man.” That maxim captures a very important social principle: we show respect for an office or a rank even if we don’t especially admire the current occupant of the office or wearer of the uniform. This rule should be followed not only in the military but in all manner of social relationships: in families, in schools, at work, and even in church. Salute the uniform, not the man.

Today we observe Presidents’ Day in the United States, and I would like to “salute” the office of president of the United States. We may not always like the president, we may not have voted for him in the last election, but that is no reason to disrespect the office he holds. We salute the uniform, not the man. Here are a few “fun facts” about the 46 presidents of the United States. Do you know the only president who did not belong to a political party? He was not a Republican or a Democrat, a Whig or a Federalist. It was our first president, George Washington. He believed that political parties would deeply divide our nation. In that respect, he was not only a president, he was a prophet.

Four presidents died of natural causes while serving their terms. They were: William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor (whose chimney from his house is still standing on the I.C. Church property!), Warren Harding and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Interestingly, four presidents were assassinated in office: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and, as some of you may personally remember, John F. Kennedy. To assassinate a president is a horrific failure to “salute the uniform, not the man.” And there are currently five living former presidents: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Let’s talk “terms of office” for a moment. Who held the office of president the longest? It was FDR, who was elected for four terms. Shortly after his tenure, in 1951, the Congress passed the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution stipulating that a person can only serve two terms as president (8 years). Who served the shortest time in the Oval Office? It was William Henry Harrison, who died after 31 days in office in 1841. That reminds me of Pope John Paul I, who died 33 days after wearing the “shoes of the fisherman,” St. Peter. Soldiers salute the uniform, while we Catholics salute the shoes. But no matter how long or how short the tenure of a president, we should never fail to “salute the uniform, not the man,” whether he is president or pope.

St. Paul seems to have this maxim in mind when he wrote in Rm 13:1, “Let every person be subordinated to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God.” In other words, show respect, honor, and yes even obedience to those who hold civil offices (like the U.S. president), because they share in God’s governance of the world. One simple way to do that is to pray for the president. He is, after all, merely a man, and puts on his pants one leg at a time. And if you do not happen to like a particular president, don’t worry, he will be gone in 8 years. But in the meantime, “salute the uniform, not the man.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!