Even after reading a Fox New’s article on why “conservatives” were objecting to President Obama’s speech to the schools last week, I was left with only one question: Are you kidding me?
Okay, let’s take a look at the speech itself, and then the provided school materials for grade school and high school. This is what has everyone upset?
If having President Obama challenge students to stay in school, work hard and achieve their goals is “socilaist indoctrination” then I’m at a loss at what to do with our country. When lesson plans, even if they asked for students to help the president directly achieve better schools and better educations, are this blandly optimistic and supportive, I”m having trouble understanding those on the right.
And I voted for George Bush the first time around. I also voted for Dole against Clinton (though I did support Jerry “Gov Moonbeam” Brown against George HW Bush in high school, for full discolsure). I don’t consider myself a left wing liberal or a conservative. I believe to think that I vote for the best person for the job regardless of party and ideology.
But this mess about a president asking for help means having indocrination is just gibberish. Read the speech and tell me if that isn’t something you want any president to repeat each year to your kids. It’s great and helpful and I hope it gets results. The speech itself and the accompanying materials defy the “socialist indoctrination” critique pretty strongly. Looking at the basic ideas, you can see the essential conservatism of President Obama. Even when he was handed legislative power, striking mandate, and other situations which could have lead him to taking off toward the left, Obama (much to the dismay of his leftist allies) has demanded a debate at the center of politics even when it hurts him.
Here, he doens’t just ask kids to help him, he asks kids to help themselves do better. He issues coded phrases which would have been unthinkable from an African American polititian even a few years ago, such as:
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home — none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.
Essentially President Obama is telling kids that the politics of victimization isn’t going to be an excuse for poor performance. And he takes this “no excuses” exercise of “tough love” to the next logical level, telling kids that:
I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you’re not going to be any of those things.
That’s a hard truth for many people of color, where entire communities are built around the pro sports dreamology (watch Hoop Dreams again if you need some proof).
You might think I’m crazy to say that Obama is showing himself as a true conservative, but take a look at articles like this and this from the election, and you’ll see where I’m coming from. There is even a story about how Obama is the new Reagan. When you think about how much President Obama talks about responsibility, you can get what I mean. Those who now occupy the far right fringe have set themselves in opposition to anything Obama does, but the increasing criticism of Obama from the left should let you know where he really stands: at the center of politics in America.
When you call your budget “A New Era of Responsibility” you’re sending a signal that you aren’t about giveaways and freeloading. When you tell kids to study because they aren’t going to be a star, you’re a small “c” conservative. When was the last time you heard a Republican adivising parents to get kids to study more and play less videogames? Probably not as much as you’ve seen Republicans trying to outlaw certain video games, along with records and such. The kind of conservatism Obama speaks of requires personal accountability and effort, it isn’t accomplished with government regulation. Obama has proposed no new grand effort of liberal anti-freedom initiatives, and the regulations are aimed squarely at corporations and large assemblages of wealth and power.
The now famous fear that Obama is going to start taking away our guns remains unfounded. While there are whispers and talk of various fearful Obama things, it is refreshing to see a president take the stage and argue forcefully for discussion and cooperation. We’re talking about a conservative president schooled on Sesame Street and not far left radical craziness. If calls for taking care of each other, everyone paying their fair share, and being responsibile for yourself are what passes for the radical left wing, I have only one thing left to say: Are you kidding me?