Boy, it was a tough week for the President.
First, there was the ongoing controversy prior to his speech last Wednesday to the nation’s schoolchildren. It seems some parents felt he would use the occasion to pursue a political agenda with our country’s little darlings or expose them to his “socialist” doctrines.
I read with particular interest an article by Neil Nisperos, a staff writer for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, on www.dailybulletin.com. It seems because of some parents’ objections to the speech being televised in school, the interim Superintendent of the Chino Valley Unified School District felt compelled to follow “School Board Policy 6161.11,” which requires parents to sign a permission slip, allowing their children to watch “any supplementary audiovisual media which is not G-rated, including nonrated media.’
I assume the President was “nonrated” as opposed to being PG-13 or maybe even an R — for race — but more on that later.
Wow, what’s the fuss? Or should I be saying, WTF?
When I was in high school in South Florida, we were required to see “Up with People” in a school assembly, for godssake! This summer I caught an interesting documentary, “Smile Til It Hurts,” that laid out the conservative political underpinnings of that cheery outfit, and the government’s relations with its founder. Among other political tie-ins, Richard Nixon hosted them at the White House.*
What’s more, in order to graduate, we had to take a social studies course entitled “Americanism Vs. Communism” (can you guess who won in that match-up?) I was so determined NOT to waste an entire semester on this class, that I actually took it in an abbreviated form in summer school to fulfill the requirement.
I don’t know what conservative parents were worried about. In my case, these occasions of school-sanctioned political indoctrination just drove me deeper into my whining, liberal, progressive viewpoints. So maybe, had they let their kids listen to him, it would have wound up helping their cause.
And then, in the middle of his healthcare speech to Congress, he’s heckled by Representative Joe Wilson (R) from South Carolina’s second congressional district. A bit ironic, that, in that South Carolina was one of the states that helped Obama gain momentum in the Democratic primary race, when he took over 55% of the State’s vote.*
Much has been said about inappropriateness and lack of respect for the Office of the President and for proper protocol in relation to Rep. Wilson’s shouted “You lie!” I have to say, when I watched the clip of the event on YouTube*, I wasn’t as shocked and appalled as I thought I would be. And perhaps that was because the President himself was speaking some pretty strong words. Yes, he had the floor and Rep. Wilson didn’t; that is a meaningful distinction.
But Obama rattled a few sabres in his speech, which Presidents often do. But in this case, the sabre-rattling was not at Uncle Fidel or other Red Menaces or Axes of Evil. No, it was at members of our own beloved Congress. And I have to say, I found that somewhat refreshing.
“If you misrepresent what’s in this plan, we will call you out,” he said. Oh good, he’s going to have someone name names and point out deeds. Because it would be good to know, after decades and decades of frustrated attempts to bring about some sensible, workable approach to healthcare in this country, just who is still standing in the way.
Lastly, I haven’t seen the proverbial “race card” thrown down too much on the table in the discussions about these two incidents surrounding the President. Which is why I bring it up. Perhaps it just smells too much like liberal, progressive whining to play that hand. But let’s call a spade a spade. And in this case the Spades are all those people in America who just don’t like the fact that there are Black People in the White House.
Could it possibly be that some of this past week’s shenanigans had something to do with that?
*For more on the “Up With People” documentary: http://smiletilithurts.blogspot.com
* For South Carolina’s Democratic primary stats: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/sc/south_carolina_democratic_primary-234.html
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