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Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 4:04 pm
by Chapagne

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 5:51 pm
by Hostrauser
Wait a second... there's nothing about health care or taxes or even anything political at all in his speech. All that speech boils down to is "make something of your life." :?

Wow, it's almost like the conservatives have absolutely no idea what they're talking about and are manufacturing an issue out of thin air.

Again. :roll:

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 6:58 pm
by baritoneplayer
Hostrauser wrote:Wait a second... there's nothing about health care or taxes or even anything political at all in his speech. All that speech boils down to is "make something of your life." :?

Wow, it's almost like the conservatives have absolutely no idea what they're talking about and are manufacturing an issue out of thin air.

Again. :roll:
Well, when the two "Stars" of the Republican Party are Sara Palin and Rush Limbaugh go figure :roll: The Grand Old Party's wheels have fallen off and they are now being disagreeable just to be disagreeable. They had their chance and did not do anything during their time in power now they want to make sure nothing gets done during the next eight years a Democrat is President :!: As always they put their interest such as big buisness before what is best for the country :!:

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 8:16 pm
by seanrj
Hostrauser wrote:Wait a second... there's nothing about health care or taxes or even anything political at all in his speech. All that speech boils down to is "make something of your life." :?

Wow, it's almost like the conservatives have absolutely no idea what they're talking about and are manufacturing an issue out of thin air.

Again. :roll:
The fact that the PotUS is making the speech makes it political...

I have read what was posted on the whitehouse.gov site and do not see the purpose, other than he wants to talk. My perception is that it is a bit condescending for him to demonstrate, yet again, his "I know what needs to be said and done because I am smarter than everyone else" attitude.

I know that I am going to get flamed for this next section, but please understand that it is being presented from the viewpoint of someone that is trying to look at this as objectively and impartially as possible. I am looking at this through the "filter" of graduate level education, psychology, and sociology courses. I have also studied a bit on leadership and leadership styles.

One of the things that jumped out while reading is his continuous use of the words, "I, ME, and MY." In studying concepts of leadership, someone that uses that type of wording tends to exhibit borderline narcicistic and self-serving behavioral traits. Does not sound like an inclusive and collaborative type of leadership, something that he inferred through his campaign.

Evidence in the remarks:
The numerous usage of: "I know..."; "I want..."; "I did..."

How about this one, "I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you."

The one that takes the cake is, "I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn." As a teacher of MUSIC, I REALLY DO NOT APPRECIATE nor do I believe that comment.

The best, and least "threatening", way for him to communicate this message is to make a dinner-time address, or post it on the whitehouse.gov site. This allows PARENTS the opportunity to CHOOSE whether or not their child is presented with this material.

The biggest problem with public education is that politics is TOO INVOLVED in policy, and as a result too many educational concerns have been thrown to the curb. If he wants to REALLY do something for education, then he would work to immediately repeal NCLB, work towards minimizing standardized testing, and encourage the practice of more collaboration with master teachers (who are IN the classroom) in shaping education policy.

I know that some people are going to be VERY unhappy with my post, and possibly attack me as some kind of right-wing wacko. While I may be conservative, in the sense that I do not believe that government is ALWAYS the answer, I DO NOT drink the kool-aid of the GOP. Anyone that knows me knows that to be true. However, it is OUR responsibility as citizens in a democracy to constantly question and critically analyze what our government is doing, why they are doing it, and how they are going about it.

The quickest way to lose that which we prize the most is to blindly throw in with either side and let them act without speaking out. That is what has troubled me most lately, the inability for people on both sides to rationally speak, and also dismissing those that are trying to speak rationally.

Respectfully submitted.

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:13 pm
by supermutant
seanrj wrote: I know that some people are going to be VERY unhappy with my post, and possibly attack me as some kind of right-wing wacko. While I may be conservative, in the sense that I do not believe that government is ALWAYS the answer
There are more of us in your camp than you think. 8-)

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:36 pm
by senza cervello
Because this speech is of the public kind, you will always have to take it with a grain of salt. There are no doubt countless hours spent be several people looking over the speech constantly to check for any PR issues. Because of this, it is very difficult to take what is said literally.
Instead, you read into the intentions of the speech. This is definitely a more informal speech than what he normally gives at it does not give specifics on policy. However, I do believe that it is political based on his intentions. The health care and to a lesser degree economy makes up 99% of his press. What he's doing is diversifying his portfolio, if you will. He's putting out to the public that the presidency is not as one dimensional as the topics at hand make it seem. No, I know all of YOU know there are plenty of sides to the presidency, but people are stupid. As the approval ratings drop, no doubt Obama is trying to boost them up, and that is all this is. It's not a policy statement or something groundbreaking. All he is doing is trying to reach out to the people. Especially Arlington, Virginia and the general area.

I can't say I blame him. It's hard to lift yourself out of something as ridiculous as "death camps".

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:59 am
by seanrj
I just can't wait to see what he says when he goes off the teleprompter... Always interesting when he does that. He always seems to get a pass on it too.

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:15 am
by Chapagne
This allows PARENTS the opportunity to CHOOSE whether or not their child is presented with this material.
Any parent can get just about anything they want if they call the front office and start complaining about it loud enough. Kids won't be forced to see this. However, people in education know that parents continually drop the ball on many fronts, so I see it as a decent idea for Obama to talk directly to the students.
As the approval ratings drop, no doubt Obama is trying to boost them up, and that is all this is.
And since it might work, there are people out there who need to decry anything that might, no matter what the value of the idea is.

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 7:56 am
by cobybos
seanrj wrote:I just can't wait to see what he says when he goes off the teleprompter... Always interesting when he does that. He always seems to get a pass on it too.
I always said the same thing about Bush.

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:17 am
by Hostrauser
seanrj wrote:The fact that the PotUS is making the speech makes it political...
Nonsense. That's akin to saying that anytime you talk it's educational. Was Barack picking, on national TV, the North Carolina Tar Heels to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament a political statement? Of course not.
seanrj wrote:My perception is that it is a bit condescending for him to demonstrate, yet again, his "I know what needs to be said and done because I am smarter than everyone else" attitude.
One man's negative is another man's positive. That's exactly what I *WANT* in a leader. A former boss once gave me some great advice: "never work for anyone who isn't at least your equal in intelligence." We just spent eight years being led by a guy who I'm 100% certain couldn't best me in Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy!, or any other contest of trivia, knowledge and/or critical thinking skills you want to come up with. I do NOT want the President of the United States to be only as smart as I am (or worse, as in Bush Minor and Sarah Palin, less than).

Secondly, let's not kid ourselves: you can't compare the President of the United States to a middle manager. Not all forms of leadership are the same. That "I know what needs to be said and done" is exactly what I *WANT* in a national leader. Are you really suggesting the President should be up there saying, "Gee, I dunno..."? As for the second part of your perception, the arrogance factor, well, you're entitled to your inferences. I see it differently.
seanrj wrote:One of the things that jumped out while reading is his continuous use of the words, "I, ME, and MY." In studying concepts of leadership, someone that uses that type of wording tends to exhibit borderline narcicistic and self-serving behavioral traits. Does not sound like an inclusive and collaborative type of leadership, something that he inferred through his campaign.
I think you have a poor analysis of context, here. He's not addressing the voting public. He's not addressing Congress. He's not speaking in a specific leadership role to the people who would be included in changing the direction of the country.

Besides, it's silly to suggest he use only the editorial "we" whenever he speaks publicly, regardless of circumstance or context. Surely you do not when you are instructing a class. Have you never said "Back when I was..."? This isn't a matter of narcissism, simply one of grammar.

Maybe Obama should just start referring to himself solely in the third person, like The Rock. "Barack says, we will fix America's health care system." That would actually be pretty awesome, especially if he started referring to republicans as "rudy-poo candy-asses." :lol:
seanrj wrote:The best, and least "threatening", way for him to communicate this message is to make a dinner-time address, or post it on the whitehouse.gov site. This allows PARENTS the opportunity to CHOOSE whether or not their child is presented with this material.
Pft. Give me a break. Thousands of parents across the nation have requested their children be exempted from watching, requests granted on a school-by-school or district-by-district basis. Failing that, thousands of parents have held their kids home from school. But don't try to pass off the baloney argument that parents have no control over what their child sees and hears.

Besides, IMO, part of the problem with this country is that parents have TOO MUCH control over the education of their children (one needs to look no further than the ALA's most-challenged/banned books list). I'm not an educator, but I think it's tough to argue that the education system has become so political at least IN PART due to parental pressure trying to implement one agenda or another.

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 5:30 am
by Chapagne
Joe Klein wrote an article that sums up my feelings better.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article ... 25,00.html

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:49 am
by Hostrauser
Walter Mears also wrote a great article:

(AP via Yahoo!) Obama foes contrived back-to-school fuss

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:30 pm
by IsnipeWithAknife
Republicans are spot on! School isn't cool, they are just keeping it real. Just shows how out of touch with the world democrats are

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:20 am
by Chapagne
Wait, what?! Would you please post where "school isn't cool" was one of the responses from the Republicans?

Re: Obama Indoctrinates the Youth of America

Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:01 pm
by MoophoniumMan
seanrj wrote: One of the things that jumped out while reading is his continuous use of the words, "I, ME, and MY." In studying concepts of leadership, someone that uses that type of wording tends to exhibit borderline narcicistic and self-serving behavioral traits. Does not sound like an inclusive and collaborative type of leadership, something that he inferred through his campaign.

Evidence in the remarks:
The numerous usage of: "I know..."; "I want..."; "I did..."
This is something that Obama's detractors have been repeating for months (as if the number of times the president says the word "I" actually indicated anything), and yet it's been shown that he doesn't use personal pronouns any more often than any of our other recent presidents.

And I'm anticipating you'll respond by saying the point of your argument was that he is much more egotistical and elitist thinking he has all the answers... in a position with the stature, importance, and power of the presidency, you better think you've got the right answers. That's every president, not just Obama. You sure as hell know George W. Bush thought he had all the answers too - it comes with the job. If you don't believe yourself no one else will.