Also, I'm trying to figure out the hullabaloo over President Obama giving a speech to school children. It sounds pretty innocent. Of course, before Democrats get too righteous, they should remember that they complained about Bush I giving a speech to children in 1991. Apparently both parties can act like petty children.
O.K., I can see a minor case that schools shouldn't be "forced" to show the speech. And maybe the original Department of Education lesson plan could be interpreted as political, and by paranoids, as indoctrination.
Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.
You'd have to be pretty sensitive to think that was a deep dark pod-people conspiracy, but, hey, some of us have read 1984. The Department of Education has changed the lesson plan. Those on the Left, such as the New York Times have generally refused to address the (very slightly) troubling text, simply calling the protests silly and bizarre.
In my opinion, conservatives have shot themselves in the foot on this one. They look over-sensitive. Besides, the best way to turn school children, and future voters, against the President would be to force them to listen to his speech telling them to work hard in school.
In my opinion, conservatives have shot themselves in the foot on this one. They look over-sensitive. Besides, the best way to turn school children, and future voters, against the President would be to force them to listen to his speech telling them to work hard in school.
1 comment:
Hi,
I'm actually mildly against Obama giving a speech to school kids. This is partly because he has enough other problems, and partly because back when I was going to school I had a pretty negative attitude to authority. Almost the only thing that could have gotten me to consider dropping out of college would have been President Nixon giving a speech urging me to stay in.
So I think President Obama has enough to do passing health care reform, figuring out what to do about Afghanistan, etc.
On the other hand, keeping kids out of school because the President is giving a speech strikes me as counterproductive. If the right wing ignored the speech, probably pretty much everybody would have ignored the speech. Keep kids out of school over this and you send a message to the kids that listening to the speech is a way to defy your authority. Some kids will be happy to have the chance. Also, what about the kids who write the President praising the speech, in hopes of getting another free day to play hooky?
This controversy does suggest that the right wing is fanatically against Obama, so he might as well treat them as enemies and ram stuff through if he can.
Ray,
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