Presidential Speech

Being Canadian, this doesn't really affect me. But it's my blog and I'll write what I wanna..

Whilst cruising on MckMama's BlogFrog community today, I came across a thread about President Obama's back-to-school speech, airing in US schools tomorrow. I was not entirely surprised by the lack of support for the speech on that community, as I do see quite a few Religious Right/Moral Majority/Extreme Conservative opinions voiced there.

I read the speech. Frankly, I thought it was fantastic, well written, and definitely something children should hear from the President. A Global National newsstory on TV showed a woman in Colorado being interviewed about this speech, and she was crying!! She said something along the lines of, "My children being forced to watch this.. I just get so upset!" I also read a few articles (and the message boards) on the internet. I was stunned. Parents threatening to pull their children from school in order to keep them from hearing a Presidential speech? Are you effing kidding me?! 'Obama is a pushing his politics on our children!' 'Obama is trying to indoctrinate our children into his socialist regime!' 'This is how Hitler and Stalin started!' 'Obama is trying to circumvent our authority as parents by speaking directly to our children!'

Say what?

I just don't get it. It's a fucking speech, people. A speech telling children not to believe that they will automatically grow up to be a rich entertainer, athlete, or reality TV star, but to stay in school. Maybe I'm dense, but I fail to see how that translates into: don't listen to your parents, kids, we're giving away free haircuts for all who join Obama's Cult! Socialism is the new 'navy'!

Also, I am aware of the lesson plan that teachers were to give to students to go along with the speech that asked kids to write a letter to the President explaining what they could do to help (or "serve") him. Yeah, I agree it sounds funky (borderline free-haircut), but the wording has since been changed.

Honestly, why all the haters? I have to echo a comment I read on a few pages: if a conservative were giving this speech, would conservatives still be so up in arms? If George W. Bush (who I think was quite possibly the worst President, ever) gave this speech to kids, I would still allow them to listen: it's the content that matters.

Even if I didn't agree with the content, I would still let my kids hear it. Why? Because it's the President. (Or, in Canada's case, the Prime Minister.) Because my kids need to understand that the world is not filled with people who think exactly like their parents. Any political speech my kids hear will be followed closely by me talking to my kids about it. Does anyone want to raise robot children who are clones of themselves and don't have their own original thoughts? I don't.

So, friends, I am curious as to what you think of this kerfuffle. American friends, will you be keeping your kids home or are you going to let the Government poison your childrens' minds in order to control them and turn them into Godless Homosexual Socialists on Welfare?