When I go to gun & knife shows, like I did this afternoon, I’m disgusted by the anti-Obama T-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. I guess if you’re a gun owner, you’re supposed to despise the president. I’m not in that camp–not as an American, and not as a Christian.

Here are three (out of many) T-shirts I saw vendors selling today: Beavis and Butthead peeing on President Obama, one saying, “We used to hunt communists. Now we elect them president” (do they even really understand what communism is?), and one with a picture of a guy saying “Take That Obama!” while holding up the middle finger.

I wanted to tell those vendors, “I don’t care who he is. You crap on the president, you’re crapping on your country. On MY country.” That’s how I feel.

My friend Nate Edwards nailed my feelings exactly: ”

There’s “making fun of the president,” which is one thing — you know, taking his personality traits and questionable policies and bashing him with jokes grown from little seeds of truth… But then there’s “hating the president,” which includes no humor, no creativity, no respect, and no decency, and I think that’s what you’re describing. It’s like that bumper sticker I saw on the back of a truck with the Obama “O” logo encircled by a larger red circle with a line through that, and, next to it, text reading “Don’t Re-Nig in 2012.”

Really? There are a lot of things to make fun of with this guy… His apparent lack of emotion in speeches, his very questionable drone warfare policy, his big ears, the fact that he was a lawyer and a law professor (I mean… so many lawyer jokes…), and all of those would be funny because of the seed of truth. But middle fingers, Calvin peeing on the president’s logo… it’s kind of disgusting and embarrassing. I have never seen such distasteful displays against a president in my short time here on earth.”

Indeed, there is much to criticize President Obama about, and to joke and even mock about. I could give you a long list of personal beefs. But hateful ridicule? There’s no place for that.

I certainly disliked a lot of things George Bush did. But he was still my president, democratically elected by my fellow citizens (okay, maybe with some help from the Supreme Court). There were people who threw hateful ridicule at Bush, and Clinton was subjected to it throughout his presidency. It’s one thing if it comes from the general populace. It’s quite another thing–a very disturbing thing–when it comes from Christians.

It’s why I won’t let my mind be polluted by folks like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on the right, and Ed Schultz and Keith Olberman on the left. Garbage in, garbage out.