RSS Feed MenuI voted for George W. Bush for Governor of Texas but not for President. My family are all Republicans and are upset about Obama. As Americans, we dissent without fear. We can speak truth to power freely. Yet when I see citizens come to Obama events with strapped on semi-automatic weapons, I wonder where the leaders of the Republican Party are. A small vocal minority is trying to drown out any voices that are not their own – now including the voice of the President of the United States.
President Obama wishes to address school children on the first day of school. He wants to tell school children to work hard, make good grades, stay in school and to set goals. Yet some have responded to this benign message by demanding of their school boards: Either don’t play the President’s speech or my kid will stay home from school. Does this make sense? The President says stay in school and these dissenting parents are threatening to keep their kids from school. Do they want their children to learn that if their parents scream loud enough, they get what they want? What about the rest of the students whose parents may want to have their children hear what the President has to say? Do these parents have any rights or are just the dissenters the ones who have rights? Many school children will not hear the President of the United States speak because their school districts are choosing not to play the President’s speech. They have caved to a small minority of American citizens. School children have been encouraged to write letters to the President of the United States for decades. It is an apolitical lesson in civics. Why should today’s students not be encouraged to write to this President?
Again, where is the Republican leader who will stand up and say, enough?
sinz54 // Sep 8, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Krauthammer: “A child swears allegiance to the flag and the republic for which it stands, but not the man who happens to be sitting in the White House. That’s the difference between a popular democracy — which is really a dictatorship — and a constitutional democracy.”
That’s exactly the point.
Young children don’t yet understand how our system of government works. They see the President and they may be awed by him. (Especially black children.)
The first lesson that parents should teach their children is that in our country, government officials, even the President, are public servants. We aren’t required to be loyal to them. Instead, they work for us.
Somehow, that message wasn’t in the Dept. of Education’s lesson plan. It asked children to help Obama. It should have asked children what help they would like to get FROM Obama.
I would tell any black child: “You should be justly proud that an African-American is now President of the greatest country on earth. But for all that, in our country, the President does the people’s job. He works for you.”
EscapeVelocity // Sep 8, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Obama is up to the same ole tried and true tricks…..just with slicker production values and modern marketing/advertising psychology.
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Hitler Youth Pledges
Jungvolk Oath (taken by ten-year-old boys on first entering the Hitler Youth)
“In the presence of this blood banner which represents our Führer, I swear to devote all my energies and my strength to the saviour of our country, Adolf Hitler. I am willing and ready to give up my life for him, so help me God.”
Pledge of Allegiance
“I promise to do my duty in love and loyalty to the Führer and our flag.”
Hitler Youth ‘Prayers’ (modeled after the Lord’s Prayer)
“Adolf Hitler, you are our great Führer. Thy name makes the enemy tremble. Thy Third Reich comes, thy will alone is law upon the earth. Let us hear daily thy voice and order us by thy leadership, for we will obey to the end and even with our lives. We praise thee! Heil Hitler!”
“Führer, my Führer, give me by God. Protect and preserve my life for long. You saved Germany in time of need. I thank you for my daily bread. Be with me for a long time, do not leave me, Führer, my Führer, my faith, my light, Hail to my Führer!”
Hitler Quotes…
Quotes of Adolf Hitler
“I begin with the young. We older ones are used up. We are rotten to the marrow. We are cowardly and sentimental. We are bearing the burden of a humiliating past, and have in our blood the dull recollection of serfdom and servility. But my magnificent youngsters! Are there any finer ones in the world? Look at these young men and boys! What material! With them, I can make a new world. This is the heroic stage of youth. Out of it will come the creative man, the man-god.”
“When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I say calmly, ‘Your child belongs to us already…What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing but this new community’.”
txanne // Sep 8, 2009 at 1:47 pm
For all of those hiding behind; it’s not the speech its the lesson plans…Get Real! It’s about anything Obama does. It is a total lack of respect and fear that some children may admire this President. When they attack over something as innocuos as this speech, it’s just way over the top and quite laughable if it were not so sad!
George W Bush had his own “lesson plans”, which included having the children read bio’s of him and FL Laura Bush as well as VP and Ms Cheney
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/kids/guide
How do you think that would go over for Obama?
George HW Bush made a speech to students in which he says:
“Let me know how you’re doing. Write me a letter — and I’m serious about this one — write me a letter about ways you can help us achieve our goals. I think you know the address.”
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=3450&year=1991&month=10
I really think the republican party and has jumped the shark on this one. The shark may end up biting them in the a**.
Parents, after reading Obama's speech to kids, dont you feel like a fool? - Politics and Other Controversies - Page 32 - City-Data Forum // Sep 8, 2009 at 3:02 pm
[...] Yet some have responded to this benign message by demanding of their school boards: Either don
Rockerbabe // Sep 8, 2009 at 3:54 pm
I agree with Laura. These parents should be ashamed of themselves for their disrespectful outburst regarding the POTUS and his address to the school kids. He is a father himself, but that doesn’t seem to matter to these boorish bents. Anything to get publicity for their hateful views. The press needs to ignore these racist, bigoted, hateful people and concentrate on the things that really matter.
I don’t remember any broohaha over President Reagin, Bush, Sr, Clinton or Duyba speaking to the school kids and visiting their classrooms. As I recall, Dubya was in a school classroom with kids when the 9/11/01 attack on NY, PA and DC was in progress. That may have been the reason he seemed a little confused when being notified about the carnage in progress. But, no progressive or liberal partents made a fuss. Most of us regard a visit or an address by the POTUS as a gift and a special occasion, even if we didn’t vote for him. While I disliked Dubya, I certainly never wished any ill or failure upon him as that would reflect badly on my country and its people.
I’m glad President Obama spoke to the kids; they are, afterall, future citizens of this country and we do spend an enormous amount of money on their education.
DFL // Sep 8, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Laura Bush has rarely been right about anything. Maybe she should spend more time at the country club playing hearts and downing lemonades. Happily, it would seem that the Bush family will fade along with the Kennedys.
Rodak // Sep 8, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Rock on, Rockerbabe.
agentprovocateur // Sep 8, 2009 at 7:21 pm
re: escapevelocity // Sep 8, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I would assume that most conservatives don’t believe they can regain the majority with nonsense like this. I mean, really, these Nazi comparisons are so sad. Who, except for a small, deranged fringe, really believes in drivel like this?
EscapeVelocity // Sep 8, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Next up Fidel Castro Cuban children pledges!
ltoro1 // Sep 8, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Sorry, but the Department of Education material was where my problem with this was all along. In additon to the creapy factor, the lesson plan could give the impression that local schools systems report to the Feds. I think enough of our citezens fail to understand the consitution as it is, I don’t think we need to add to that problem. My opinion will continue to be the same in the next Republican administration too.
Midcon, thanks for getting my acronyms corrected, I was mixing my State of Florida acronyms with the federal ones.
greg_barton // Sep 8, 2009 at 9:30 pm
You know, I love it how three conservabots posted the same link at the same time.
greg_barton // Sep 8, 2009 at 9:37 pm
txanne, you’re awesome.
Will anyone address Bush’s lesson plan?
Bueller?
Bueller?
Anyone?
Anyone?
8 September 09 (pm) « blueollie // Sep 8, 2009 at 10:30 pm
[...] 8 September 09 (pm) Posts Here is rational Republican response to the Obama school speech. [...]
sinz54 // Sep 9, 2009 at 9:31 am
greg_Barton:
I’ll be happy to address “Bush’s lesson plan.”
AFAIK, no previous Presidential speech to schoolchildren was accompanied by a Department of Education booklet telling schoolchildren to find ways to “help the President.” For example, Bush 43 asked American schoolchildren to find ways to help their counterparts in Afghanistan. NOT to help him personally.
Let me explain it to you lefties once more:
NO AMERICAN CIVILIAN needs to “help the President.” The President is Commander-in-Chief only over the military, not the rest of the populace. If President Obama calls me on the telephone right now, as I’m writing this, I have every right to hang up on him. That’s my right as an American citizen.
Evidently you’ve been admiring Chavez in Venezuela too long, or that bearded murderer in Havana, whose name escapes me at the moment. In those kinds of countries, the civilian population is expected to help the Leader. Not here in America.
Oneon1isto // Sep 9, 2009 at 11:21 am
Here’s the problem Sinz: I don’t think it would’ve made much difference had the text (if it did really read that way, I haven’t seen it) read “help America” or “help your community” or “help the government”.
I really don’t. The Dept of Education booklet was a pile-on, not the original cause for indictment. The original case was “he’s talking to our kids about socialism and indoctrinating them against us.” I’m sorry, that’s just nuts.
ltoro1 // Sep 9, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Oneon1isto, I obviously can’t speak for anyone but myself, but my issue all along was the Dept. of Education lesson plan, which was changed. I am, at worse, ambivalent towards the President addressing school children. It’s like kissing babies, it’s just what they do.
As someone who watched the George H.W. Bush and Clinton inaugurations in elementary and middle school, I understand the civic and historic virtues of hearing the President speak. However, clumsy execution is still clumsy.