Barack Obama's upcoming address to children accomplishes a multitude of items that have been on the American agenda for years: for the White House to take an active role in promoting education; for children to learn about the civic process from an early age; for the message of the value of education to be continually promoted and engrained in young citizens. So why all the coservative furor?
Republicans across the country appear to have united nearly lock-step against the president's planned television appearance, during which he'll talk with America's schoolchildren about the importance of education and the opportunities it provides, as well as their responsibilities as the next generation of Americans. Much like the health care misinformation campaign in which major GOP leaders nationwide made entirely untenable claims of death panels and so-called "community standards", the buzz word this time around seems to be "indoctrination." Opponents of the President claim that his speech is intended to plant seeds of liberal political ideology in the minds of the next generation of voters.
But here are the irrefutable facts of the televised event: the theme is decidedly apolitical. The message children receive from President Obama is no different than the one they receive in public service announcements during commercial breaks from Saturday morning cartoons, featuring athletes, actors, cartoon characters, and mascots. In fact, it's unlikely to be anything different than those same children would be told by their parents. Moreover, the White House has pledged to release the word-for-word text of President Obama's speech a bare minimum of 24 hours prior to his telecast.
Still, concerned parents- many of whom have been misled and manipulated by the false claims of politically motivated opponents of the President- have called into their schools demanding that the telecast not be shown to their children. That's curious, considering the fact that there is nothing secret about what is to be said. He won't be talking health care reform or selling the positives of the stimulus package.
But since when did the American President become only a figure of partisanship? From the 50s through the 1980s, schoolchildren were shown addresses from the President on a variety of topics. And many of those messages were, in fact, policy-driven. President Reagan addressed schoolchildren on the dangers of communism. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson each spoke to children about the importance of Civil Rights and social harmony. Far beyond simply a partisan figurehead, the President is the democratically elected leader of our country, a man chosen by his people to represent America's image on the world stage, as well as at home. Why would we waste the opportunity for our children to learn from him?
Republicans are vested not in protecting children, but in waging political battles at every opportunity, this simply being the latest incarnation. Because no one batted an eye when President Bush stopped at local schools to tell the children to strive to be their very bests.
Nor should they have.
