Obama's School Speech Outcry | Sojourners

Obama's School Speech Outcry

Most folks who've read my blog over some time should know that while I very much respect President Obama, I don't go ga-ga and drool over this man. I can understand why so many love him, but I can also see why many disagree with his views and policies.

But having said that, I simply cannot understand the outcry of some parents, schools, churches, politicians, talk-show hosts, your mommas, and whoever you want to add to this list who are going nuts about President Obama's address to America's students. Of course, he has an agenda. As the president, he has certain goals, convictions, and "agendas," and in this case, he's made it clear that he wants to address the youth about "working hard" and "personal responsibility," which, umm, are clearly dangerous socialist, communist, and Muslim agendas. Huh?

[from the NY Times]: Mr. Obama's back-to-school address, scheduled for Tuesday morning, will encourage students to study hard and will steer clear of political themes, Mr. Duncan said in an appearance on "Face the Nation" on CBS. In any event, he said, whether students watch the speech is entirely up to parents and local school officials.

"The whole message is about personal responsibility and challenging students to take their education very, very seriously," Mr. Duncan said. The speech text was to be posted on the White House Web site on Monday.

Last week, conservative talk-show hosts accused the president of sinister motives, and some parents vowed to keep their children out of school on Tuesday.

Part of what I don't understand about parents taking their kids out of school is "What's the message we're conveying to our kids when we take them out of school in order to avoid the presidential speech?" I'm also very concerned at our collective inability or unwillingness to listen to others that don't share in our personal worldviews

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