Mr. President, we welcome you

President Donald Trump will visit Cape Girardeau in just two days to rally for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, who is running against Claire McCaskill for the U.S. Senate. No matter our political parties, I hope we can all agree having a sitting president grace our area is sort of a big deal.

I say "sort of" loosely. It's actually a really big deal, isn't it? I know high season for Trump trauma is upon us -- has been upon us since he stepped into the political arena and will remain a chronic condition -- but a president's visit to one's city should be an honor. Many would call this Flyover Country, but when the leader of the free world flies in, it's noteworthy.

You won't catch me at the rally. It's going to be a madhouse -- the crowd, the lines, the security checks, all of it. Just not my thing.

In January 2017, my employer sent me to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the Washington, DC, area. President Trump attended, following in President Ronald Reagan's footsteps 36 years prior. I was in the room when Trump spoke that day. It was a powerful moment, as I expressed at the time. If you love the president, you're thinking, "Of course, it was!" If you can't stand him, you're thinking, "Nonsense!" For me, it was not a love or hate affair. But it was certainly an affair. I am neither a friend nor a foe. What I am is fair. I give praise where praise is due and hold feet to the fire when they stray. I did respond emotionally at CPAC as Trump entered the ballroom to speak, however. In describing my reaction, a friend understood perfectly and recently explained it this way: "It's not the man. It's the office." Exactly!

I was interviewed by a local television show in New York City in 2010 and was challenged on my views about then-President Barack Obama. "Do you respect him?" I was asked, the answer to which the panel and audience expected to be "no." After all, it was no secret that I did not support Obama's policies or his record. My answer, though, was simple: "I respect the office." And, again, out of respect for that office, I tried to be fair and true to my values, although I felt Obama was definitely style over substance.

This country is blessed to have the office of the president -- and if we don't like what we are seeing from whoever occupies that office, we have the privilege and responsibility to vote him or her out of office -- or in the case of a second term, well, we wait it out, knowing another day is coming and with that, another American to hold that sacred seat.

Personally, no matter President Trump's often-unpresidential style, if we are honest and attentive, we must admit his accomplishments have been good for the country. Look at historical unemployment, tax reform, the war on terror, to name just a few. Of course, those will be spun and talked down -- you know, the stuff political opponents do to put down the person who sits on the opposite side of their ideological aisle. That's what partisan people do.

I continue to pray for Donald Trump -- the man, yes, because don't we all need prayer? But I pray for Trump, the president because I care about our country. Frankly, we cannot sincerely pray for the progress of the country without praying for the progress of the president. Pope John Paul II is credited with saying, "As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live." Well, it may be presumptuous of me to modify his words, but I will: "As the president goes, so goes the American family and so goes the world."

So as we prepare to welcome our president on Thursday to the Show Me Center, let us do so with dignity and honor. If you are not compelled to welcome the man into your heart, that's fine. That's an American privilege. But let's welcome the President of the United States -- the office, if you will -- to our little place on the map. It's actually a big thing, and the moment deserves to be met with respect. I would love for folks to rise to the occasion and not protest such a historical event, but I know peaceful protests are an American right also. So if people choose to protest, let them be just that: peaceful.

Cape Girardeau, let's show our respect for the office, give our president a welcome becoming of Southeast Missouri values -- and take our place in history.

Mr. President, we welcome you.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.