Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Let them listen...

So today L went to the gym of her school and watched President Obama's speech. She went with her two friends, who are Chinese American. She reports that only three kids in her class went. She thought more had been given permission to go, but instead choose recess.

In her school distract parents had to write permission slips, in order for their children to be allowed to hear the President of their nation speak.

I made it L's choice and wrote the permission slip accordingly. It is a free country last time I checked and she is a citizen. The US grants citizenship based on physical place of birth, for the most part. She has a passport and has gone and voted with me in almost every election since birth.

I cannot believe the TA-DA over the entire speech thing. Since when is listening to the President of the United States, encouraging you to stay in school and do your homework subversive. It is a honor that the President took time out of his busy day to address the future business and social leaders of the United States.

I wonder how many of the parents who were so outraged over President Obama addressing the youngest citizens of this Nation allow their children to watch Britney Spears half naked on TV and take their children to High School Musical movies and the like. How many of them expose them to all the commercialism that is our society? I am not saying it is wrong, but I fail to see how those pursuits are any more or less harmful, than letting them hear their President speak.

It is not like Chairman Mao was speaking. (Which might have been entertaining, seeing as he is dead...)

H's mother hid in the cellar on a weekly basis in Nazi Germany. Hoping to avoid being carted off to a work camp at best or assaulted at worst as a young girl. Her crime, being Catholic and having a father who refused to join the party.

We live in a democratic society, founded on the principals of healthy debate and room for disagreement. I get that some people are unhappy we have an African American liberal democrat as a president, but you know what, tough SHIT. In less than four years there is a remedy for that. Get off your ass, run a better candidate and VOTE.

Did I bitch and moan about Bush, yep. Did I tell anyone they should not listen to him on television, nope! But I did rock the vote, put a sign in my yard and VOTED, when it was time!

All this bitching and moaning, sounds like sour grapes to me.

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