…lest ye be indoctrinated! (cue spooky music and/or the Imperial Death March).
The White House has released Obama’s Prepared School Remarks for the dreaded back-to-school speech. It contains such ideologically divisive statements as the following:
But 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. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.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.
And I tell you, nothing screams “communist” (or, for that matter, “fascist”) like a focus on personal responsibility.
All sarcasm aside, apart from the biographical elements in the speech, it could as easily be given by any president of any party in recent memory (heck, a libertarian could give most, if not all, of this speech), and indeed focuses on themes that Republicans say that they value, such as the notion that one succeeds in life via hard work and that even when life isn’t easy, that one still has to take responsibility for one’s situation. It also reminds of a lot of the personal responsibility statements that Bill Cosby has directed at certain segments of the African-American community and that Republicans keep saying the black leaders ought to be saying more often.
However, not everyone sees it that way–or, more accurately, are trying their best to see problems where none exist (e.g., here, here and here).
To give credit where credit is due, not everyone on the right is freaking out. John Podhortez at Commentary writes:
Given his predecessor’s odd take on education—asserting its profound importance while joking all the while about what a terrible student he himself had been—this comes as a welcome message from any American leader and especially from an African-American president of the United States. Work hard, don’t be overwhelmed by failure, and keep a sense of what it means to have a future. This all has the distinct advantage of being true, being true for everyone, and being something every young person can hear with profit.
Meanwhile, Polimom addressing a very interesting question:
If you are one of those parents — and especially if you have already derailed the speech at your school, or have told your kids that you don’t want them to hear it, then this question is for you:How do you plan to tell Janey or Johnny that you don’t agree with the speech?
In other words: how does one explain to one’s kids that they object to a speech about working hard in school and taking responsibility for oneself?
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September 7th, 2024 at 11:55 pm
Obama makes the sun go away every day. I hear that in the coming weeks, he plans to make the earth cooler (but in Australia it will be like summer). And if you decode the equations in math textbooks, it says “tax and spend” in repetition. Obama is an evil, powerful man and must be stopped!