There is a story about Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps apocryphal but definitely instructive:
Shortly after the assassination of William McKinley, Roosevelt and his young family moved into the White House. During one of their first breakfasts in their new home, twelve year old Kermit said some rude things at the table, directed at TR himself.
"Aren't you going to punish him?" asked Edith Roosevelt.
"If he is insulting his father, I will surely punish him," replied Teddy. "But if he is insulting the president of the United States, that is his constitutional right."
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