Ok I know, for the most part, I blog about my kids and about parenting issues and my struggle, like most moms, to balance work and family. But every now and then things that happen in the news compel me to put my two cents in. Besides, this does impact my children.
By now I am sure you’ve heard the hoopla surrounding the President’s speech to school kids. People are saying he is going to promote his agenda and try and turn our children into people that think just like him. Um, you can’t be serious. The whole speech won’t be 20 minutes long. If it can do all of that in 20 minutes, that’s on WHALE of a speech! Now, I pride myself on not seeing everything as a racial issue but in this case, how can I not take offense as an African American. No one will come right out and say it, but let’s be real. Race is still an issue in the US and as we can see, bring president doesn’t make you immune. Two former presidents, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan have addressed the nation’s school kids without incident. Everyone generally thought it was a great idea. But for some reason President Obama’s address needs to scrutinized and parents should get a copy first to decide if it’s appropriate for their children. I’ve even read where people are worried about a line in the speech where he is asking students how they can help the President. HUH? I wonder how asking a second grader for his or her opinion is really going to scar the child for life.
And why is it that former presidents addressing school students didn’t need to allow a preview of their speech? Some say it’s the delivery method - that kids won’t get to interact with him. Um, news flash, most speeches and addresses from any president doesn’t come with an interactive piece, that would be difficult to manage. Some say it’s the supporting information he offered, including the suggestion that kids maybe read a book about him. Wow, I mean, he’s only THE PRESIDENT! Of course students should read about him. We read about Presidents Lincoln, JFK, Thomas Jefferson and the like. So, why would it be unheard of to read about President Obama?
No matter your party affiliation, political views or beliefs, President Obama won the election, fair and square. Just as many of us were asked to accept George Bush as president even though there were a lot of questions left unanswered when he was declared the victor over Al Gore, we all need to accept that Barack Obama, a Black man, is now the President. And just that fact alone should compel us to be respectful of him. All he wants to do is wish the kids a successful and positive school year, - wow…how radical of him.
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