Comments on: Obama’s speech to schoolchildren – Education or propaganda?

By: Do you remember October 1991? : BenjaminBradley.com

Do you remember October 1991? : BenjaminBradley.com — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:30:21 +0000

[...] And today it seems that Democrats now want to vilify people who are objecting to the president’s speech to children next week? [...]

By: Allan B

Allan B — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:49:25 +0000

Of course she is. That is the easy way out for liberals when they are losing an argument.

By: Glenda

Glenda — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:46:46 +0000

Please read my comment a few lines down about Hitler. I so pray you are right but before we wake up too late, let’s be on the safe side and think about things, not react about things.

By: Glenda

Glenda — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:44:00 +0000

Are you calling her a racist?

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:25:11 +0000

Well said, Glenda! It is the duty of every American to question its government – whether we like the questions or the answers or not.

By: Glenda

Glenda — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:10:24 +0000

As a student of German history I would like to say that the majority of the people embraced Hitler from the start. They trusted him and gave him what he wanted all in the hopes of reform of their nation.

Those that opposed him began to be shunned and bullied by “their peers”. It even became punishable by law to openly speak opposition to HIS beliefs.

When America went in and found Concentration Camps, people living as close as 1/2 mile away refused to believe they existed, why? Because they continued to believe they would never be led astray.

Thinking for ourselves should never have a punishment. The thinking process is what keeps us different from robots. Allowing others to think as they wish is what gives you freedom to think as you wish.

Don’t fall into a rut and challenge other people for thinking differently than you do. Freedom means just that . . . freedom to think and freedom to care.
Wouldn’t it be a great world if everyone was allowed to think without opposition, we might even find more Einsteins and Platos.

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:43:11 +0000

I totally disagree with your take on why the president talked so much of himself.
I think his message was loud and clear. We all ask why kids these days don’t care as much about politics as in the past. What he did was bring them into the loop at a young age. By setting examples of how they might get involved by helping him,
•Encourage kids to gain background knowledge “by reading books about presidents and Barack Obama.” Notice it is not about history or the office of the president but about Barack Obama specifically.
**Notice that he is engaging children now,…yes, they should learn about him and what he stands for, that is after all how one learns about politics, and whether they grow up to believe what he says is right or if they decide his message is not for them, well, at least they are learning about what they stand for. I think this is the main point of this task.
•“Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president.” Help the president?
**Sure,…help the president! Let them feel that they are helping him just as one might tell a child to behave as Santa is watching, or how an individual might look up to a spiritual or religious leader for guidance. He is trying to say let’s believe in our country, our leader, our teachers, our parents, in ourselves…it kinda comes down to a great movie quote” Help me help you”. The truth is the president can’t do it on his own, its the most honest thing a president could say.
•Asks how kids can “create a supportive community.” We must remember we are not individuals anymore.
**We all know that as we age we do loose touch with the new generation of children. With technology, and world wide communication, and all the advances we make on a daily basis, why not ask the children what they can do to change they problems in today’s society. We know they come with big imaginations, with some crazy ideas and some too big to fathom, but again, he is getting kids to think for themselves, again getting them engaged, and involved at a young age to start taking some resposibility to making a better change.
•Discuss what “the president wants us to do.”
**As a parent discuss these ideas,…as a child talk to your friends your family your classmates etc,…talk about your nation’s vision and how you can play your part in making this the future, your reality.
•“How will he inspire us?” Another show of the ego of this president. Inspire?
**Use the president as a tool to gets kids excited about learning, achieving, bettering themselves, being kind, cooperating, setting goals, what does the president stand for and how do his standards, morals and expectations match up with mine? How can I use my president as a inpiration to do better in life. He is after all the president,…and I personaly do feel inspired when i hear him speak.
•“What other historic moments do you remember when the President spoke to the nation?” Historic? Before the speech is even given? Why is the speech historic? I don’t expect a speech to schoolchildren will rate up there with the greatest presidential speeches of all time and to think it does again shows a pretty big ego.
** Again, get to know your president. Read al his speaches, watch him on youtube, watch him interact with his daughters, the senate, with other country leaders. Get to know why you believe in this president or don’t. Become informed, research your president and know what he stands for, as this is tyour country’s leader, why wouldn’t you want to know what he stands for???

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:39:26 +0000

Nancy,

I know you are joking when you say, “never did I get all of the hateful, completely false, fear-mongering emails.” Ever watch MSNBC, read the Huffington Post, the Daily Kos or MoveOn.org?

Further, as Deb said, it wasn’t nearly as much about the speech as it was the suggested lesson plans that accompanied it. They very much called for allegiance to our “Dear Leader” and certainly rang of what you might expect from non-Democratic regimes.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:38:34 +0000

Please give me a FACTUAL source for your claim that his is against Israel.

Please also keep in mind that the bank and auto industry bailouts began with George W Bush. Obama just continued some of them.

Bush operated much more like a dictator than Obama ever has. Bush, Cheney, Palin, Rove, Limbaugh, and all of the Republican strategists have brainwashed MOST Republicans I know by installing fear, the most powerful motivator, into your heads and taking away your ability to think for yourselves. You all are just regurgitating the same words over and over… Obama, muslim, against Israel, socialist, Hitler, nazi, euthanize seniors, etc…

At the same time, more and more facts are coming to the forefront about the lies that were told to convince people/congress that attacking Iraq was urgent because they were an imminent threat… that they had wmd’s – we were sure of it… that there was no relationship between Iraq and the Taliban at the time of the 9/11 attacks. And yet, everyone still believes that, by ridding the world of Sadam, we have righted the wrongs of 9/11 – even though we have no idea about the whereabouts of Bin Laden, or if he’s alive or dead…. the one person we KNOW was responsible.

Meanwhile, we’ve spent billions/trillions on a war (much of it going to Cheney’s former employer, by the way) which greatly contributed to our economic downfall, we’re weaker, and more vulnerable. I just feel like we played right into their hands… The best way to destroy a country is to get them to destroy themselves.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:13:06 +0000

Well said.