Posted on 09/09/2009 9:16:08 AM PDT by jim byrd
Barack Obama's school speech has come and gone. The content of the speech is irrelevant at this juncture, as he has had ample time to revise the content after the barrage of criticism received by parents concerning this speech--there is no legitimate way to know the original content, or if it differs from the final version.
(Excerpt) Read more at jimbyrd.com ...
They are going after the Girl Scouts. Why wouldn’t they go after the Students ....
That’s why the criticism was unwarranted.
How can you legitimately criticize a speech you haven’t heard and which you haven’t gotten an advance transcript of?
Makes no logical or tactical sense.
It would have been better to let Obama give his speech without prior comment. Chances are his typical overreach would have made him clueless as to what is acceptable to many parents to say to their kids.
THEN, the criticism would have some bit to it ... and some consequences.
As it happened, those who criticized a speech they hadn’t heard came off as batty.
If the speech had been as doctrinaire as it is supposed it would have been without the controversy, it would have been a win-win for conservatives (just like letting Van Jones’ words speak for themselves) ... and also for parents who would have had a perfect teachable moment with their kids to tell them exactly WHY they disagree with Obama.
Intended to create class instruction on how to help Obama.
The school boards were by passed. It came with the power of the President behind it. Talk with you children on going.
The speech itself was only part of the indoctrination.
Look, Lorianne, anyone who can get millions of kids avross a continent to have to sit, listen and watch every word for a good part of an hour is projecting onto the audience a sense that he is powerful and installing in them a sense that whatever he says is important to them.
No matter what the speech, just that aspect is the creation of a demi-god, a dictator, an emperor.
It is like Louis the XIV did to his subjects. He required that they come into a huge hall, he and the royal court sat on a raised dais, the Sun King in the middle. ALL were then required to watch him eat his lunch, any who looked away or made a comment or acted in any way to disturb the ceremony of a King’s lunch was arrested and subjected to severe punishment.
The idea was not the lunch, but the respect. THE COMMANDED RESPECT FOR A MONARCH.
We, Lorianne, are Americans. We reject such class distinction, we reject the idea of a class of nobility. AND WE REJECT ANYONE WHO WOULD BE EMPEROR!
Be an American.
A lot of the criticism stemmed from the “study aids” that were distributed. The content of the speech as delivered did not match the content the study guides apparently addressed. Had the speech matched the content of the study guides, there would have been a tremendous uproar. Granted, it might have been better to allow the pResident to put his foot in it and overreach, but the public was just too sensitized to the overweening powergrabbing going on, and reacted right away.
The speech as delivered was, as you noted, a lame, pointless “stay in school, study hard” speech that might as well not have been delivered. Obama achieved nothing more than a few vague “he inspired me” comments from peer-pressured teens. The idea that the most powerful leader in the world would ball up the whole country’s school systems for that is like using a sledge hammer to drive cabinetry nails. He no doubt originally meant this to be a “call to arms” of sorts for the nation’s student body, to impress on them the idea of community service and of helping “the President”. A lot of Parents decided they didn’t want to take the chance of him delivering a speech like that and acted preemptively.
“That’s why the criticism was unwarranted.”
No, it wasn’t. You know, I know and everybody knows he had a full agenda for our kids that day. Only AFTER we screamed about it did they alter the messiah’s plans for our kids and tone down his speech.
I don’t buy the line that he gave the original speech as planned any more than I buy that obama is a centrist unifier.
“That’s why the criticism was unwarranted.”
No, it wasn’t. You know, I know and everybody knows he had a full agenda for our kids that day. Only AFTER we screamed about it did they alter the messiah’s plans for our kids and tone down his speech.
I don’t buy the line that he gave the original speech as planned any more than I buy that obama is a centrist unifier.
These people SAY what they think we wanna hear. But what they DO is ALWAYS against what this country is about and what we the people want. They know this. But they will continue to ram whatever they can get through us.
It wasn’t irrelevant because he had a sneaky private sit down with selected freshmen and what do you know, Obama told them that he was for universal health care and thought it was achievable.
Next to NO media reporting on this little sit down with the kids.
No, I don’t know what was in the speech he “would have given”. Do you have a copy of it?
I agree. The "I Pledge" propoganda piece done by celebrities was a case in point. But it aired and we got to LEGITIMATELY criticize it. It was awful. Jingoistic to the max... really scary pre-Nazi propaganda stuff ... but it is now in our arsenal because it actually aired and we have copies of it.
Look, Lorianne, anyone who can get millions of kids avross a continent to have to sit, listen and watch every word for a good part of an hour is projecting onto the audience a sense that he is powerful and installing in them a sense that whatever he says is important to them.
I agree. But this is done everyday to our kids though TV, music, the internet, etc. And parents have the bully pulpit and have a responsibility to tell their children what they find offensive or wrong about what they are hearing.
If we had not protested it is almost a certainty that this president, who seems so out of touch with the mainstream, would have done a horrific "sun king" over-reach as you described. We should have let him.
Strategy.
Are you replying to someone else? I don not follow what you mean.
What I said was it didn’t matter what the speech was! What mattered was that he was able to force millions of schoolchildren to sit down on the first day of school for most of them, and have them pay close attention to him for the good part of an hour. To have that ability is IMPERIAL.
To use it as he did and how too many “educators” allowed and some even enforced, was to train the children in how to be subjects of a King, and was just for that — not American, it was corrupting of the values of Liberty.
Yet it is also clear that he did have earlier drafts that played up his universal health care pitch — that is disturbing, because it means he is perfectly willing to set child against parent to force HIS OWN POLITICAL DESIRES upon them.
His actual speech differed from the text presented the day before.
He did manage to either plant or to prepare a student to ask him a ridiculous-in-context question on Universal Health Care.
Other presidents have addressed all the nation’s school children. So I don’t think that fact alone is relevant to this controversy, though I agree in princple ... but is should have ben applied to prior presidents as well.
What would have been relevant is what he actually said (plus the prepared materials).
As a tactical matter, we should have allowed him to try. You collect the arrows your enemy has sent your way and use them.
It was the duty of the educators to pre-screen the presentation by recording it and playing it back when and if they found it appropriate.
Here’s an example. A few years ago I was subbing a High School Health class (that is one of the worst subbing assignments, believe me). The Gym Teacher was in his late twenties/ early thirties. His lesson plan was to have the students watch an MTV produced show about Real Live Choices and their consequences. Some of it was fine — speed boat racers and other dangerous professions.
I didn’t have time to preview the video that day. Bad mistake. In the middle of the video — a fairly explicit pole dancing scene from a strip club in a section on underage drinking. That was not good.
In the later classes I used alternate videos. I told the teacher I thought his video was inappropriate.
That’s a variation of the “everybody does it” defense. I’ve looked into some of those cases. No they were NOT the same, on a number of significant matters. NONE of them was meant to aggrandize the man giving the presentation. For example GHW Bush in on 10/1/1991 warned against drug use. Nor were the presentations so widespread, I’d bet many if not most districts and classrooms opted out.
Obama made HIMSELF the subject of the presentation. The message was “Listen to ME. I am GREAT. I am YOUR LEADER. Learn about ME. Emulate ME. Adore ME!”
I didn’t get that from the speech he gave.
I think you’re getting that from the speech he didn’t give ... the one we didn’t get to hear.
You said “What I said was it didn’t matter what the speech was!”
Then you go on to say it did matter what the speech was.
I was addressing your point when you separated out the content of the speech and the fact that a president is able to address schoolchildren as “imperial”.
No it’s not. Not necessarily. If it was we should denounce ALL presidental speeches to school chilrend, regardless of their content.
Anyway you’re not sticking to your own points so its not fruitful to discuss.
Annotated excerpts of the Obama I-ME-MY Speech to Kids 9/8/9:
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. [The first "I know that for ..." seems extraneous. Why is it there? For a reason! Obama takes Royal Ownership of all things that may be known.]I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning. [What's with the special shout out to seniors? Well, they'll VOTE it 2010!]
I know that feeling. [Again, takes Royal Note and grants Royal Validation.] When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning. [Here the KNOW ME, WORSHIP ME starts!]
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."[ME!]
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. [Royal Vaildation of the feelings of the poor subjects.]
But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. [Whatever I say is IMPORTANT!]
I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. [I, the Emperor, now tell you the subjects what is your duty to ME.]
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility. ["A lot of speeches" reinforces how important the I am. I, the Emperor, am the one in all our society and community who talks about responsibility. That is MY duty.]
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. [Your teachers do what I say!]
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. [Your parents must do what I say!]
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. [I, alone, am in charge of everything the government does, at every level, including the schools you attend.]
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. [Not "As a responsible student..." instead all authority, even that over one's own self flows from one source -- OBAMA! ]
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country. [The preceding paragraphs are all KNOW ME! LEARN ME!]
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. [Andoni Schultz HAD NO EXISTENCE AT ALL until Obama thought about him. Obama is GOD!.]
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter. [Obama, the GOD, gets down to the most minute details of how we must live in HIS Creation.]
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. [Me, me, me. For ME!]
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