On Friday, CNN reported that President Obama will give a speech directed to America’s school children this Tuesday. Naturally, this news caused a conservative uproar, but how could something so seemingly innocent be conceived as menacing?
Well, obviously this so-called speech is an attempt to plant the seed of socialism into impressionable young children’s minds (the opinion of the Florida Republican Party chairman). If you haven’t heard, socialism is sweeping the nation; in the 2008 presidential election, the Socialist candidate received over six thousand votes. This time next week, I expect to see grade-schoolers take to the streets and demand a revolution, sporting red berets and waving copies of “The Communist Manifesto”.
Detracting from the fact that Obama is not a secret socialist, one speech, regardless of its content, does not have the power to cement a child’s political views. Kids are not going to see this speech, which will be broadcast during school hours, as a lesson on how to think about political issues. Some may appreciate the speech for its substance, but I’m sure a majority of the kids will simply be glad they get a break from their normal classroom activities.
Not everything a president says or does results from some anticipated political end-goal. Government is mostly concerned with the public good, not shoving ideology down people’s throats. Concern for children seems to be the main reason behind Obama’s speech; the White House characterizes Obama’s speech as a “pep talk”, encouraging schoolchildren to work hard and to take school seriously. Who knew that something as simple as telling students to study could become politicized?
The anger stirred by Obama’s future speech (which will be posted online for the public to read before Tuesday, another sure sign it’s not a socialist, brainwashing scheme) shows just how politically divided our country has become. It makes sense that the two parties are divided on subjects that actually matter, like health care and the environment, but when politics trickles down to the unimportant issues, it is a bit frightening. After all, how can the two parties solve the big problems if they cannot even agree on the little things? The phenomenon of petty politics can be blamed on both parties. One party comes into power, and the other party tries to distract the public with meaningless issues. When people elect a new party, the old ruling party remembers how the other party behaved, and the cycle continues. For example, the Senate should have overwhelmingly voted in favor of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of the most qualified nominees ever, but 31 senators voted against her confirmation. I expect these 31 senators voted the way they did because they remembered Democrats’ efforts to block Bush’s nominees for the Supreme Court.
Unfortunately, the nasty version of politics we see playing out today is unlikely to end any time soon. Even President Obama, “The Change We Can Believe In,” has failed to alter the political scene significantly.
Politics aside, vitriolic accusations of socialist indoctrination via Obama’s speech are simply ridiculous. Anyone who sees a president’s appeal to children to study as a threat to civilization needs to stop living in McCarthy-era America and read a modern-day newspaper.
—Aimee Sobhani is a junior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at aimee.f.sobhani@vanderbilt.edu.
