LA Times: Calls to boycott Obama's speech to kids offer a disturbing lesson in paranoia

Los Angeles Times ^ | 9/5/2009 | Tim Rutten

[SeekAndFind]

Those who are whipping up hysteria over the president's address are playing a dangerous game with an unhinged segment of public opinion.

While it long ago crossed the borders of reason and civility, the hysteria over healthcare reform is -- at some level -- understandable, because wellness and infirmity are really just stand-ins for those most terrifying of issues, life and death.

But there is no similar way to rationalize the bizarre controversy now raging over President Obama's plan to deliver a brief televised address on Tuesday to the nation's grammar school children.

According to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Obama will "challenge students to work hard, set educational goals and take responsibility for their learning. He will also call for a shared responsibility and commitment on the part of students, parents and educators to ensure that every child in every school receives the best education possible so they can compete in the global economy for good jobs and live rewarding and productive lives as American citizens."

Sounds innocuous. Who, after all, could be against good study habits, personal responsibility and productive lives? As it turns out, quite a number of people who seem to believe that Obama intends to induct their children into -- well, it's not quite clear what they're afraid of. The Web and talk radio are abuzz with various attempts to organize a boycott of Tuesday's speech. One group is urging parents to demand that their children be excused from watching the president and be sent instead to the school library to read the Founding Fathers. (The theory, one supposes, is that a good dose of the Federalist Papers will inoculate the young against Obama's attempts to subvert the republic through good grades.)

[RacerX1128]

sounds very much like a cry baby liberal who had, boo hoo, imperfect parents.

[presently no screen name]

it's not quite clear what they're afraid of.

TinyTim, you're a lib - it's known you don't see the obvious. Take your finger out of you mouth, stop pouting and calling people names! All the things you needed to learn were taught in kindergarten.

[presently no screen name]

Stain on his shorts that I’ve got on mine and Makes me smell his smell, coming

Reads like they were watching porn. Sounds like one depressed person, IMO.

[Voter62vb]

"This is the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation's school children about persisting and succeeding in school."

First off, Sec of Education, Arne Duncan, in glorifying Obama, forgets other American presidents (even United States of American presidents!) have addressed the kids. Does this administration, nuanced and elite, use a search engine? Or are they so use to making stuff up that they believe the faithful will not question anything?

Add in the "pledge to be Obama's servant" video, the constant air-time and the administration being stacked like cordwood with liars, cheats, millionaire-banker-rich-folk hatin', anti-American kooks and you have us parents feeling a bit uneasy.

[JPG]

“Now, kids, listen to your Uncle Bambi very, very carefully. Has Mom or Dad ever used bad words when they talk about me? Do your parents say that I’m a Chicago thug or a communist? Does your Grandma think I want to kill her? Write everything down and I’ll let you know what to do next.”

[lapsus calami]

 

Calls to boycott Obama's speech to kids offer a disturbing lesson in paranoia

 

 

After the MSM got organized and received their talking points, the name calling has officially commenced with the usual negative connection to conservatives. It's much simpler and base than any alleged political angle, though. People just don't feel comfortable having a known liar who hangs out and works with radical America-hating dirtbags and whose own education record information is a mystery and apparently a state secret, having as little as a nanosecond to say no telling what to their offspring. No, I don't blame them a bit for recoiling from that.

 

 

 

[swheats]

thank you for posting the link. I hadn’t seen it.

That teacher was out of line to stir fear in this child’s heart that she may never have her father home.

The teacher wearing her political button, it should have been removed once she crossed the threshold of her classroom.

[annieokie]

My daughter told me tonight that her childrens school will show this, but you have to sign a form to say YOU WANT your child to see it. lol.

They switched it around, as it was before, you had to sign if you did not want them to attend. This is just great

[shibumi]

Actually “Communist” was the nicest thing you could say about Davis.

Obama’s “mentor” was a child molestor and a bi-sexual pervert.

Great formative influence, eh?

Watching porn? At least.

[Goldie Lurks]

Yep, Bammie will instruct the kids to send him an e-mail at flag@whitehouse.gov.

Type in the subject line: Something Fishy.

[jveritas]

It is about the 24/7 perpetual propaganda that you see in third world country dictatorships. This is extremely dangerous propaganda runs against the foundation of our Republic. This not about just merely giving a speech to children. The man is a narcissistic human who thinks that he must be worshiped and adored 24/7 by the masses including the children.

[gidget7]

Arne Duncan should not be allowed within 100 miles of ANY school, so the fact that he is even involved speaks volumes.

[Dianna]

There is another aspect of the lesson plan that many people are overlooking.

The teacher is to ask students , "Why is it important to listen to our elected officials?"

Remember, the context here is kids in school. When you tell your children to listen to their teacher, or listen to their father or grandparents, inherent in that is the message to agree and internalize what is being listened to.

We do not say (very often) listen to your teacher so that you can marshall really good arguments against what he/she says.

The teacher is subtly teaching students to passively listen to and accept the ideas from our elected officials. And those people are perhaps the one group that we ought to be the most skeptical of.

[Bernard Marx]

LOL — I’m “paranoid” too. My “illness” began 20 years ago.

[presently no screen name]

Didn't say anything about commie - not on that post, anyway. Not too sure who Davis is - just responding to the poem about the guy, Pop, and him.

Obama’s “mentor” was a child molestor and a bi-sexual pervert.

I never read that before. Do we know that to be true? What about his 2nd father, the one that adopted him and his grandparents? Where does this guy Davis fit in being a mentor?

[presently no screen name]

My “illness” began 20 years ago.

A long standing illness? No gov't health care for you. ;)

[Anima Mundi]

I wonder how they would feel about a President Pat Roberts talking to the children about values and the importance of...whatever and following up with the very same curriculum concepts? Think they’d be okay with that?

[eclecticEel]

Every dictator the world over has recruited his nation’s children as inductees into his personality cult - the LAT has no clue why we want nothing to do with such crap.

[shibumi]

Highly sanitized Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Marshall_Davis

CFP article:

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4490

Pedophilia:

http://www.thecommentary.net/obama-mentor-frank-marshall-davis-was-a-pedofile/

Another take:

http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Frank_Marshall_Davis

[Graybeard58]

Even if the address were muted, I still would not want my kids to intentionally look into the face of evil.