"Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is . That's the opportunity an education can provide."
~President Barack Obama, September 8, 2009
President Barack Obama gave a speech yesterday addressing students (pre K-12) about the importance of education. The President's back-to-school address was broadcast to students all around the country. Apparently, this message to our youth caused a great deal of discomfort and anxiety among many because a mass out pour of naysayers arose from the depths to shout in opposition to our President’s speech. This was said to be out of fear that he had some hidden political agenda to overpower and brainwash the minds of our children. The fear that our children would be deceptively pulled over to the socialist dark side known as the left became so strong that parents went to such lengths as to yank their kids from school for the day to prevent them from viewing the speech. That’s not all. Political right-wingers bombarded the airwaves with deception and half-truths, aggravating the paranoid delusional hysteria that was propagating throughout our society since before President Obama took office.
When I heard about the backlash that was occurring prior to this speech, I was anxious to read it and to know why so many people were in an uproar. When I finally read the speech I was flabbergasted. I was absolutely flabbergasted because the President, our President delivered… a wonderful, poignant message to our children that resonated not only the importance of education, but of personal responsibility, motivation and resilience. In his message, he also reinforced to our children their self-worth and their potential to do great things if only they put their minds to it, that education was the key to their futures and the future of our country.
So I ask… can someone tell me, what is wrong with this message? Are these words not something that we want our children to hear from the leader of OUR free world? And, where is the respect for the leader of our country, for the office of President of the United States? How does it look to outsiders looking in when we have schools who refuse to show broadcasts of their own President? We have had Presidents who have given messages of this type in the past, some with political agendas, and I don’t remember such blatant disrespect.
Some are saying that it was not the speech per se that upset so many but the lesson plans that were given to the schools to use in the follow-up with the students. Personally, I think that some people are looking for any reason to complain, protest and gripe when it comes to this President and his administration. No one can honestly believe that these parents who removed their children from school for the day were worried about political hypnotism and indoctrination. The President’s speech lasted for 20 minutes. What teachings did they miss for the remainder of that day? Where was the concern for their education? This was not about the kids; this was about the parents and their inability to prioritize and choose what was best for their children over their own personal biases.
It does make you question the true motives behind the irrational behavior of some of our citizens; was this just a political thing or did race play a factor, too? I am one who is very leery about using race as an explanation for inequality in this day and age, but let’s face it, racism does still exist. I think it would be naïve not to think that, with the first African American president, that race did not play a role in some of the more irrational opposition that he faces. What is ironic is that these same people stand up waving the American flag and yelling patriotism at the top of their lungs and then turn around and snub the President.
The President's message was not some secret indoctrination of our children into a socialist regime. Nor was it an undercover plot to systematically win over the children of America so that they would become mini-Obamas. This speech was, simply stated, a back-to-school message from the President of the United States asking our children to stay in school and calling for them to work hard and to get the most out of their education. I read a comment from a woman who thought that the President’s speech, while it had a good overall message, was a bit much to put on children because it emphasized our dependence on them, as “the future.” Well, come on! These kids are our future. As we get older, it will be our children who will eventually become our caregivers. It will be our children who will become the future politicians, doctors, lawyers, police officers, and presidents who will be running this country. Yes! That is a huge responsibility, but I believe that it is incumbent on us, as parents, to prepare our kids for that responsibility and one way to do that is to actually tell them what their responsibilities will be.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe you should let a kid be a kid, but teaching our children early about being responsible and having good work ethics will impact their growth and carry over into their adulthood. I believe you should speak to your kids realistically about the future and about their potential roles in that future. We can, as parents, monitor and somewhat filter the information that our children encounter, but to completely blind them to the realities of life is doing more harm than good.
In my opinion President’s Obama’s message was clear. There was no underlying political message or secret plot to brainwash our kids. The President, as a parent, like every other parent in America has a common goal when it comes to our kids…and that is to ensure that they receive a good education and go on to live prosperous and fruitful lives. We as parents and as United States citizens need to take a really good look at ourselves and re-evaluate what is important for our children and our children’s future. What we do will have a huge impact on them later. How can we possibly be good examples for our kids if our leadership abilities are questionable or if we let prejudice and fear cloud our judgement? Please people, let’s look at the bigger picture here; it is alright to question your government’s actions, especially when it may affect your children. But, please do it with an open mind and rational thought because without that you are only perpetuating a cycle of ignorance and hysteria that will permeate every part of your child’s life. This is not the legacy I want to leave for my child. Why can't we just work a little harder to be better human beings, better parents and teachers, and better citizens so that our children’s futures are brighter than our own? Isn’t this the one thing that all of us want, the one thing that we all have in common?
If you would like to read President Obama’s back-to-school speech please follow the link below.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
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