Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Obama's talk to the nation's school children. Is the Daddy State now upon us?

There's been controversy over President Obama's plans to address our nation's kids directly on September 8th. At one level, this seems innocuous enough. But a closer look at exactly what he's doing raises some troubling questions. It looks like the President is using his bully pulpit to circumvent parents and inject himself unnecessarily in the lives of millions of school children.

The US Department of Education has released recommended guidelines for what teachers can do to prepare their children for the President's address.
  • One is encouraging the children in grades preK-6 to read books on past presidents and current one's on Obama. It seems a bit presumptuous to have children read biographies of himself.
  • It encourages teachers to ask students why what President Obama says is important. I wonder whether that should carry over to speeches he gives regarding abortion, expansion of government run health care and efforts to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act?
  • Asking the kids to think about what the president is asking them to do? (He'll be telling them to do things?)
  • Then he wants to the students to come together and discuss what the president wants them to do.
The Department of Education encourages an even deeper level of engagement by middle and high school students.

Knowing Obama's collectivist orientation, meaning he supports a gradual and not so gradual shift towards more government, e.g. socialism, it smacks of paternalism by the state. This is what one sees in a lot of socialist societies. The political leader whether it's "papa" Stalin, Castro, or whoever presents himself as the benevolent, provider and protector of the people.

It also demonstrates a lack of boundaries. Obama wants to inject himself and by extension government, into every area of life. In this instance, circumventing parents, and speak to millions of school children on what he thinks is best for them.

In a sense, this is in character with government leaders who seek to raise our children for us. He's taking Hilary Clinton's mantra, "it takes a village to raise a children" to a whole new level; the federal government is now raising our children.

I have appreciated and applauded Obama's efforts to, in a general sense, point out the importance role fathers play in the lives of children. But the general addressing of the issue is much different than what he's doing here, circumventing parents and seeing to, in a sense, be the great father to the children in our nation.

8 comments:

Claude said...

lack of boundaries? really? A president that is pushing a program that will help all people of its country is bad but a president that lied to the country to promote war, killing, sufferage, and what will go down in history as one of the biggest financial debacual of all time?

A president that promotes knowledge amongst its students and to encourage children to learn history, and history in the making is bad?

A president that wants children to learn science, social science and to be knowlegable about the world is bad?

But a president put into law to hide the truth of what the country was doing overseas, such as banning all pictures of coffins coming home, and blocking journalists from printing infomation, is good?

Again and again, the MFC shows how immoral their structure is.

Blog mole said...

I believe parents need to be able to read what he is going to say and choose to have their children stay home if they want. The problem is then these kids are stigmatized by other students AND possibly teachers for not having participated. I'd pull my kid out regardless.

Unknown said...

If you need to shelter your child from social sciences and current events than you should home school them.

Current events, social sciences are truth happenings in the makings. History now.

I allow my children to read news papers and discuss the news with them. I allow them to start to form their own opinions on things. I do not need to colonize my child so they they follow like sheep.

Claude said...

When I was a kid in the 70's we were told by our teachers we had to watch the president speak when he was on tv and write a paper on it.

I remember asking why did I had to do this? my parents response was they had to read the papers, and listen to the radio and do the same.

Its current events. Its history in the making.

Are you going to be like the former president and try and make up history in the making? you would rather put out laws that forbid pictures of the coffins of the dead coming home from iraq and to ban journalists from being able to write the truth?

You discuss current events with your child, your teachers do the same. Its a subject!

Not only are the extremist radical religios right like yourselves trying to create a non science math based school, but now trying to take away what is going on right now?

guess what bud, the earth is not flat, and the sun does not circle around the earth!

mom has it right homeschool your child if you need to be sheep.

I relish in the ideas that each generation forms their own opinions, and moves forward.

I see that you relish the idea of living in the stone ages.

Unknown said...

yes, pull your kids out of school, where there might be infomation that might make them think. Power greed, and indoctrinating colonizational activity at its best!

Unknown said...

I have subscribed to all the Minneapolis Forums, one is the mps parents forum.

Even there, the conservatives are behind this speach, what it entails and what it promotes.

the most conservative fellow on the forum but who happens to be a teacher and a parent who I normally disagree with on most accounts, backed his speach.

and it was published, and it went to the teachers and it was never thought of as something that would be forced. he addressed the children with flaire in this speach.

www.whitehouse. gov/MediaResourc es/PreparedSchoo lRemarks

Now the mfc looks like a fool for not backing it up.

and parents that pull or pulled their kids out today are the ones that taking away, and indoctrinating.

I am ashamed of any parent that wouldn't back this speach, that wouldn't want the president to speak to the children, and I am ashamed of the slavery mindset behind the power need to control other people.

This speach is about empowerment.

Shame on all of you neigh sayers.

Unknown said...

"At the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents and the best schools in the world, and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities,"

Daddy state? I would hope every Daddy of this nation says exactly these words to their child tonight before they go to bed. If they do, our nation would be a better place.

Unknown said...

just like the egg on your face with the heckles of the president so go this speach.

you can tell Gallieo that the sun revovles around the earth, you can burn people at the stake because they disagree with you and you can behead people that worship another God than yours.

It doesn't make it right.

And once again you have been debunked.