If conservatives don't like the idea of Obama talking to their children...

[drm604]

If conservatives don't like the idea of Obama telling their children that education is important than perhaps they should invite a conservative to also speak and give the contrary opinion.

[Puzzler]

1. Or maybe Obama could say he's banning all abortion procedures...

... then the wingnuts would have to oppose that too ;)

[rwheeler31]

2. The Right wing hate education, they prefer propaganda.

[vadawg]

3. some like me dont want any politicians talking to their kids unless we know what they are going to

say, for a lot of people its parental choice.

[drm604]

5. He's going to tell them that they all need to be good little Islamic communistic fascists

and follow his orders without question.

Why would you object to that?

In case it's needed: :sarcasm:

[vadawg]

8. dosent matter if hes going to tell people hes the prince of darkness

its a parental choice whether you like it or not all sarcasm aside. the day we allow the government to take away the rights of a parent to teach their kids what they want no matter how nuts or how much you disagree with them is the day we should start to worry.

[drm604]

10. They already don't have that right.

If parents believe that 2+2 = 5 and want to insist that the school teach that, I'm sorry but they're going to lose that battle, and they should lose that battle.

If the President wants to tell children that hard work and good grades are important and parents don't want their children to hear that message then... well, I don't even know how to respond to that except to question their fitness as parents.

[vadawg]

12. the point is the parent can teach their child 2+2=5 at home and we will think them dumb

you got to remember there are a lot of parents who hate obama, for a myriad of reasons, there are other parents who are apolitical and dont want any politicion talking to their kids, and there is a whole spectrum in between. The parents should have the last say in this no matter what your personal viewpoint is...

[drm604]

18. No, I don't "got" to remember anything.

I'm well aware that there is a lot of hatred out there, and a lot of it is for reasons that I can't fathom, but just because they don't like the current political situation doesn't mean that they can withdraw themselves and their children from the world.

The president is going to talk about the importance of hard work and good grades. How any sane parent can object to that is beyond me. If their problem is with the messenger rather than the message, what does that teach their children? Always judge the message by the messenger? Judge people not by what they say or do but by uninformed preconceptions of what they are?

It's not like it's Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong-il who's going to be speaking. It's the President of the United States, and he's going to be speaking about the importance of education. The idea that anyone would find this objectionable makes me worried for my country. The fact that people think that those objections should be shown any kind of respect makes me even more worried. This is not the first time a President has addressed the nation's youth and I don't recall any serious objection to it in the past from anyone.

Some people have gone completely insane in their hatred for our President for reasons that I don't really understand. Most of their hatred seems to be based on things that aren't even true.

[vadawg]

22. not disagreeing with you on anything you said, but its the parents right that comes first

you may not agree with them on this, but do you really want to live in a country were any politician can force you to have your children attend a viewing where they are giving a speech. You need to talk to people who come from societies like that and see how important it is to allow parents to have the option to withdraw their children no matter what their reason is...

[dalaigh lllama]

25. I can remember all sorts of guest speakers at school when I was young

and I can remember being shown all sorts of government-made movies. I remember President Kennedy's physical fitness program. I also remember teachers throwing their two cents in on a variety of non-related-to-the-topic issues. I remember the DARE cop talking at my kids' school.It was no big deal.

Why is THIS president's talk on the importance of education suddenly such a hot button? Makes absolutely no sense, unless you're pulling your kids in and out of school like a jack-in-the-box. I's say instead of keeping them out, go and watch it with them, so you can discuss it at home later.

[drm604]

26. I live in a society where the politicians can force my children to attend school.

And the school can show a televised address by the President. If the parents don't like the message then they can talk to the children about it afterwords at home, just like they can teach them that 2 +2 = 5.

The point that people are missing here is the message that is being taught to children if they are required to get parental permission to hear a Presidential pep talk about the importance of education. They're taught that certain types of people (Democrats, people with "strange" names, blacks, or whatever) should not be respected or listened to regardless of the message. What will this do to the future of our society? "Mommy says I don't have to listen to people who are Democrats" or "Daddy says I don't have to listen to people with the middle name Hussein". What kinds of adults will we get from that kind of thinking? What kind of society? We'll have increasing polarization and a decreasing ability to actually talk and negotiate.

This ridiculous over-reaction to an innocuous Presidential address may indicate that we're already far down that path.

Are we going to give every parent a veto over every page of every textbook? Are we going to give every parent a veto over every assembly? Are we going to give parents a veto over Officer Joe giving a talk on how to cross the street safely? What is unique about a Presidential address that makes permission necessary when it isn't needed for all of those other things? Do we really want to expose children to this ugly side of politics this early?

[donco6]

30. I believe this has already been decided many times.

Boards of education are given the power and duty to set curriculum and see that it's taught. There may be laws here and there that give parents opt-out options (sex ed being most common). But without special provisions (home schooling), parents are required to send their kids to school. They can complain about curriculum, but they don't get to vote on every test question or textbook or even course.

[vadawg]

31. your first line said it all, you already have politicians forcing your children to attend school

and now you want to force children to watch a politician, the whole point is that whether you like it or not parents, even the dumb ones should have the final say in who their children get to see give a speech, i know my kids school isnt showing it to the younger kids so they will attend, but i would not be happy and would keep them out if they were being shown it, same as i would for any political stuff at their age, its my decision as a parent to decide if something is age appropriate or not for my children...

[donco6]

33. Were you out the day they taught periods?

Reading whole run-on sentences is very confusing. Try sprinkling some of those ellipsis marks through your paragraph there.

[drm604]

35. This is fruitless.

I could be mistaken, but you seem to be being deliberately obtuse. I'm not continuing this.

[hfojvt]

37. Presidential politics is far more political than most textbooks

and more political than a local non-elected police officer.

Yes, we are more divided now, but one of the things that keeps us divided is your own closed mind. Instead of being able to see that somebody else might have a point. You see them as deliberately obtuse, or ridiculous. You turn them into an 'other' an other that is stupid, is crazy, is racist, etc., etc., etc. I think they are, instead, a lot like me. They are partisan and they take their politics seriously. I can see and respect their point of view, even if I disagree with many of their policy proposals.

[JDPriestly]

40. Do you happen to recall where George W. Bush was on 9/11?

Yes, he was in a schoolroom in which children were being forced to listen to him. Stop exaggerating. Presidents have done this before. Republican presidents -- not just GWB but also his father and apparently also Ronald Reagan.

The president of the United States is elected by the people of the United States. He is not in the same class as the dictators that have been discussed in this thread.

Get a life, vadawg.

[JDPriestly]

39. Hogwash, vadawg

We are all Americans. Obama is our president. It won't hurt to have our children listen to a speech from him. He has two young children of his own. He knows they aren't interested in politics. Don't think for a minute he is going to try to brainwash them. He just wants to tell children to do work hard at school.

One thing you must remember about Obama: he did not have the benefit of the presence of his own father in his home. He had a step-dad and then his grandfather, but not his father. Lots of children in America are missing a parent. The parents of some of those children are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama knows how important it is for children, especially in single-parent homes, to have the guidance and attention of adults who care about them.

In addition, this is a way for Obama to emphasize the importance of the schools and education for our economy and our society.

That is why Obama wants to speak to all the children of America regardless of the political views of their parents. I support him in this effort.

[Pangolin2]

13. You know what? *I* am starting to worry, precisely because a fair number of posters here

do actually seem ready to let the federal government dictate what parents can tell or teach their kids. And this is coming from "Democrats"!!!

God help us.

[drm604]

19. That is too simplistic to even bother addressing.

Sorry, but I'm really getting sick of this crap.

[dalaigh lllama]

28. Actually, it's the state school boards determining what kids learn.

And where are you getting the government is "dictating" what parents teach their kids? What a fatuous remark.

[JanMichael]

21. Please oh please use " ' ".

The lack of the " ' " is a sign of ignorance.

[Zomby Woof]

7. He is President of the United States

In that capacity, the office transcends politics.

My congressman used to come talk to us at our high school once a year, when I lived in one of the most conservative cities in Virginia. He was a hardcore Republican conservative. I didn't agree with him, and if I were of age, I wouldn't have voted for him. But I listened to him respectfully. When questions were directed at him from an opposing point-of-view, he replied with like courtesy. Funny how a democratic republic works!

The idea that my parents would have blocked me from listening to him because of his party or ideology is fucking stupid. And so are the parents exercising their "choice" not to let their child listen to the president, and THINK FOR THEMSELVES about what he may say.

It's not a policy speech he is giving. It's not an exhortation to back a program. It's simply a message of encouragment and motivation.

I feel like I am arguing with a kitchen table.

[hfojvt]

17. Did it transcend politics last year?

There's also a huge difference between talking to high school students and talking to fourth graders or second graders. We cannot be sure what is in the message until it's given. Would we have trusted Bush to speak to the kiddies, or would we have been furious?

[drm604]

34. Yes, I am soooo worried that the President is going to say something innapropriate to the kiddies.

What the hell is Obama going to say? Is he going to urge them to become Islamic Communists?

He's going to talk about education, that's all. He will avoid anything that could be the least bit controversial. You know why? Because whatever you might think of the man, he's not an idiot and he knows that it would be politically disastrous to talk about things like health care or even the economy. Beyond that, he's a father and a decent man and will not try to take advantage of people's children.

Bush did speak to grade school children and I honestly don't recall any furor over it. I never objected because I knew that anything he said to young children would be innocuous and apolitical.

[hfojvt]

36. Bush spoke to one grade school when he visited

and perhaps visited several schools. Not quite the same as speaking to all schools. I still submit that I would have objected if Bush had done the same thing, and I would never have trusted him to be non-partisan. You are not worried about this President, and neither am I, because we would likely mostly agree even if he did give a slightly partisan message. But I can understand concerns on the other side.

[Toucano]

15. The President of the United States is not simply a politician.

There is the person. There is the office.

In this case, the office of the President is delivering a message to the nations youth. At an election fundraiser or a campaign speech, it would be the politician speaking.

Wacky opinions such as yours are the reason we are having such a hard time maintaining a civilization. No offense intended.

[vadawg]

16. none taken, we all have different history and viewpoints

im no more going to tell you how to raise your kids than i expect you to tell me.

[hfojvt]

20. there was not a lot of fuss when our Governor spoke to our high school

Maybe there should have been. I can remember repeating his anti-ERA arguments during a discussion in college, although I can also remember thinking he was a hypocrite on farm-aid.

[treestar]

32. We had Biden speak at our graduation!

He was our Senator at the time.

Nobody skipped the graduation.

[AzNick]

4. The contrary opinion to "work hard and get good grades"?

[drm604]

6. Exactly.

If they object to that message, which they apparently do, then they should be given equal time to give the opposing viewpoint.

[Toucano]

9. Let's make it Michael Savage.

He can tell the kiddies the opposing view, presumably that education is unimportant.

[drm604]

11. Or maybe Glenn Beck.

He could talk about the hidden communistic and fascistic symbolism in their school colors.

[Toucano]

14. Yeah, but Beck would probably cry at some point.

Savage would just foam at the mouth.

Hmmm. So many good choices!

[DCKit]

23. I can't think of one who wouldn't scare the kids K-12.

Then again, Michael Steele just converted several dozen future lawyers to die-hard liberals with a single speech at Howard University. It can't be all bad.

[Toucano]

24. Good one! n-t

[donco6]

27. Maybe one could get elected -

and then HE could speak to whoever he wants.

If he's white, that is.

[KelleyKramer]

29. Ha Ha. Damn good point!

Excellent, I'll remember that at the office.

KnR !

[JDPriestly]

38. Excellent idea