my two cents

so there's a lot of, shall we say, "discussion" about president obama's speech to the children coming up. i know, i know, but i just can't help myself.

here's what i think: people are totally overreacting. i do not support obama and his ideology, but it doesn't make me the least bit concerned that he wants to talk to the children of our country. i think it's a great idea, actually. the president seems so far removed from these little children and their lives i think it's nice for them to believe he cares about them and how well they do in school.

i know some parents are worried obama will try to "indoctrinate" their kids with his politics but to those parents i say, seriously? this is what you are worried about? a very short speech your kids will hear one time? i doubt these same parents are so concerned about the actual curriculum their children are learning from at school because, believe me, that is what is going to make the difference.

i remember when bush sr. was inaugurated. i can remember watching that in school. do i remember anything he said in his speech? no. but i can remember thinking "this is cool" because i felt like i was a part of history. i doubt most kids will remember anything the president says in his speech this week. if they remember anything it will probably be about school because that is relevant to their lives right now.

as mentioned before, what the parents should really be worried about is what their children are learning from their teachers, because the public school curriculum is very liberal. our history and government books are not unbiased. this is coming from someone who, believe it or not, remembers a thing or two from her own public education, or "indoctrination". i was taught to be liberal minded and was that way when i got to college. but now, as i learn things on my own i begin to see that what i believe now is a lot of times opposite of what i learned in class, particularly in the case of whether a certain president or program is considered beneficial or not. and i'm certainly not saying that being liberal is evil. i just would have liked the opportunity to make the choice myself instead of just being taught to be liberal, because, as it turns out, i am not liberal.

that is all i am going to say about politics right now because i don't really like to talk about it. a lot of people tend to believe only their way is right and treat you like an idiot for believing something different instead of having an attitude of hey, it's okay that we disagree and i understand why you feel that way. i don't like discussing politics.

but it does bother me that people can't see president obama's speech as a great opportunity, and that is why i finally give my two cents. i would like to watch it with my daughter. i want her to have a chance to feel what i felt when i watched president bush as a kid. i want her to feel an importance and sense of history whenever she hears any president speak. i want her to listen when a government official wants to specifically talk with her and not run away if he belongs to a different political party then she. i want her to develop a respect for the office of the president of the united states regardless of who that president is. most of all, i want her to have in interest in politics and be active in our government. starting now seems like a great time.

wow. that is really long. sorry. i don't think people like to read long things online. it's boring. don't worry, i won't do it very often. i don't like people knowing what i really think about things.