Check this out:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/09/03/peggy-venable-obama-speech-school-children/
…or rather, let me save you some time…
Aside from sounding like a letter you might read on the local paper opinion page during that time of year when high school government students are required to write a letter to the editor, there are a number of salient flaws in an opinion piece Fox news ran from former Reagan education liaison, Peggy Venable.
First of all, her “professional” opinion assures her, with certainty, that what Obama proposes in his school visits is “indoctrination” and “an abuse of power.” This is based on a suggested lesson plan the president’s education staff has forwarded to schools wherein the following questions might be posed for discussion:
-why should we listen to elected officials?
-why is what they say important?
Ms. Venable, I hate to break this to you but:
1) Asking questions for discussion is NOT indoctrination or an abuse of power. In fact, most people would argue that discussions (especially rational ones, as opposed to fallacy or repeated BS) foster just the opposite of abuses of power or indoctrination and...
2) This lesson plan is merely offered to schools who CHOOSE to use it after CHOOSING to air the president’s speech to their students. (choice is generally considered antithetical to indoctrination)
Venable claims that schools never used to encourage kids to respect the president.
Let that sink in for a minute. Read it again.
Never used to encourage kids to respect the president?
Someone’s been drinking too much Kool-Aid! And as long as I’m dropping clichés, may I go so far as to say that the conservatives have officially jumped the shark?
Unless she grew up in some liberal enclave or a commune, I seriously doubt this is consistent with her experience. I’m not saying she’s lying, necessarily, but only that she apparently missed out on anything public education did since George Washington was our president. Kids have ALWAYS been encouraged to respect the president in school. I don't ever recall that being considered indoctrination even if it was. It's nothing new.
Furthermore, many presidents have spoken in public schools before and to say Obama is the first to do so with an ulterior motive is selective memory at its best. (or would that be worst?) Wasn’t that W reading to kids while the Twin Towers were felled on his watch? Are you suggesting, Ms. Venable, that they ran out of substitutes that day and called in the president since he's a public employee anyway?! (Hint: NO, dumbass, he was there for the photo opp, an ulterior motive! in support of his No Child Left Behind agenda)
Venable claims that rather than schools teaching kids to be obedient to elected officials, they should teach that “our system is based on the rule of law, and a robust tradition of loyal opposition, not blind support for the president in power.” Seems like just a few years ago, a retired General Clark was chastised, characterized as a disgruntled former employee of the W Administration for suggesting such blasphemy!
She’s sounding awfully liberal for a Fox opinon page contributor. In fact, if that’s not liberal enough for you, check out this entitlement-laden plea in her final paragraphs:
“All parents should be able to make the choice Obama made for his own children to send them to a private school if that best suits their needs. Until that day happens...” (cuz, you know, lots of parents are the first black family in the White House and share similar secret service security concerns, right?)
Whoa there! What’s with this “until that day” crap? Wouldn’t the conservative response to this quote normally be something like: that day HAS come… every parent HAS that option right now… it’s called get a job, pay the tuition and your kid CAN go to a private school. Ms. Venable seems to suggest that all kids are ENTITLED to have their private school tuition paid by someone else… which would make it kind of like public school, socialist even. But she’d never suggest that, would she?
I feel bad for these people whose memories are so short and who have been so indoctrinated by their party of hate propaganda that nothing this president ever does will be good enough for them… and that no amount of absurdism can ever be detected in their own illogical bile.
I hope I’ve firmly established that I too have some problems with the current administration’s proposals (cap & trade is a waste of $ and effort for what it MIGHT deliver decades from now and to go $1.8 trillion in debt by the end of the year for it and a severe compromise on healthcare reform is outrageous), but c’mon… if the best you can do is find new ways to use words like “socialism” or “indoctrination” in an article about a president’s attempt to make a visit to schools more than just a photo opp, then grow the F up.
He’s OUR president now. America… love it or leave it. Remember that? I heard it a lot during the 2000-2008 stretch. How about some constructive criticism rather than sound bite sniping. How about respectfully tolerating some new ideas until it’s time to vote again. How about remembering that in this civilized country, we rule by ballot box, peaceful assembly, debate, compromise, democracy… you know... all that crap these folks seemingly want to do away with all of a sudden.
Now that I think about it, maybe the fact that someone who writes a letter like this served on the Reagan administration as a White House Liaison to the Dept. of Education explains why she so favors private education now!
Luth
Out
