The president’s speech to school children
The absolutely unreasonable opposition to the president’s speech outrages me. People have full right to mount any valid opposition to President Obama’s policies. I don’t have to agree with them to let them express their opinions or opposition. The speech in question was not presented as a promotion of the President’s agenda. It was a valid non-partisan inspirational message to encourage children to stay in school. I think people are sending the wrong message to their children when they disallow the speech on partisan grounds.
Children who are old enough to be influenced by a politician’s speech are also susceptible to their parents’ influence. Parents should teach respect for the office of the president and basic human respect for the individual holding the office. Parents also have a responsibility to teach their views to their children. A well prepared child will listen to a politician’s speech and filter what he says through the standards and beliefs provided by the parents. If you are afraid your children will be unduly influenced by a political speech maybe you are not being effective in your teaching at home. Talk to your kids and prepare them for the world. Denying them exposure to the world and not teaching them how politicians, teachers, and even clergy promote their own agendas actually makes them more vulnerable to the influences you are trying to protect them from.
Another personal opinion: I believe the message sent to children by forbidding their access to a public service announcement from the leader of our country helps continue the erosion of support for our government. Parents should become more personally involved in the political growth of their kids. Let them hear the messages then teach them how to recognize spin, propaganda, and partisan messages. They will be better citizens for your efforts and less likely to succumb to the mob mentality promoted by sound bites and professional spin doctors. Maybe I’m being too generous with my opinion of parents today. I know I was never taught anything politically constructive by my parents. It has taken me 50 years to develop a valid political thought process. Someday I might take time to write down the influences my childhood had on my politics and the true crap I had to unlearn before maturing.
drp
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3 comments:
I do not know what President Obama spoke to the school children about, but I do know that parents have the right to know what was going to be said before it was said.
Everyday, in our country, parents block web-sites to protect their children, they finger-print them to protect them and monitor who their friends are and what shows on television they watch and even how much television they watch. That is the duty that respectable parents are bound by to be good influences in their childrens lives. After that child becomes an adult, he/she may not share the same views as the parents and that is just fine too; but, as long as that child is a child, mom and dad should have the say so over what is heard and seen. There are some parents that do not care and just let kids grow up, not really give them any direction.
The biggest problem that I had with this whole thing is that it was mandated to be watched by every student in America. John F. Kennedy stated" Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." This president wanted the school children to write letters on how they could help our president, not our country. This is wrong. I do not know what was said because I got so sick of trying to sort out truth from fiction that I stopped watching, but let me tell you. The parents should have first, last, and all in between words when it comes to their children and their values and what they wish to instill into their growth pattern, morals, and education.
On some points I agree. Parents should have a right to know what their kids are exposed to. The outrage started well before anyone knew was was to be said - everyone assuming it was to political indoctrination. It turned out to be a non-political public service announcement urging students to work hard and stay in school. The text of the speech was released beforehand and parents (and school officials) had the opportunity to react then.
Now, I believe there is way too much misinformation being spread about by every organization with an interest in public opinion. Regardless of parents' opinions - keeping kids too protected from the real world leaves them vulnerable when the real world seeps through the cracks. I say they should be allowed to see presidential speeches in school. Then the parents can discuss what was said, what the real meaning was, and demonstrate the ways people obscure real meanings behind political claptrap. This makes the child better able to go beyond the noise and see the meaning. Without this exposure and subsequent discussion parents are leaving their children too susceptible to manipulation.
Politics is not pornography (some of it might qualify)but it is a fact of life. A child should be prepared to deal with political propaganda instead of hiding under the bed when the president speaks.
DRP
You can teach a child about politics,gay marriages,and abortions from the time they are in kindergaten, but you can't say a prayer led by a school official or say one nation, under God in the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States. What is wrong with this country? I think I just answered my own question, actually. I do not care if you are muslim, buddist, mormon, scientologist, christian, catholic,or other denomination. I firmly believe when they took the mention of not God out of our schools, but the teachings that a higher power does exists, then the moral decay of our country started and that only took one woman to do that.
I personally do not believe that anyone below 8th grade has the ability to hear and understand what is being said and can discuss issues with their families. Our elementary school which is pre-k through the 5th grade ran an election one time just to see who would win. I forgot the names of all the candidates, but Jesse Jackson won because the kids thought the teachers meant Michael Jackson. Enough said.
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