I started this petition the day after the state funeral for President George H.W. Bush. 

I found myself thinking about whether the pomp and circumstance was being accorded to President Bush solely by virtue of his office, or whether the honor related in some way to him as an individual, a specific person. 

While all Presidents are flawed and have faults, I think that it is important that we find something worthy of dignity in who the President is as a leader and as a person, even if their political views differ than our own. 

This Op Ed, written on the occasion of President Bush's state funeral by Patti Davis, the daughter of President Reagan, touched me.  

For the presidency to retain its dignity -- that is, for the President to be worthy of being honored with a state funeral -- the President should be a model for kindness and for courage.