This is a post I wrote in September of 2009 and posted on my first blog, and as such few of you may remember what I am talking about. This post however is still relevant today, and will continue to be so.
We’ve all probably heard of this YouTube video of schoolchildren singing praises to Barack Obama by now, especially if you briefly pass the Fox News channel during your nightly channel surfing. Understandably parents and the general public are viewing this news story in a negative light, but I feel as if I need to make a distinction.
Teaching very young, impressionable children to blindly praise one particular man in a place of power is wrong, and borders on indoctrination.
Teaching young, impressionable children to love their country and believe in the American way however, is not.
Imagine if duty to your country, to the ideals that America stands for, were taught in our schools. Would we have more citizens concerned with the direction our country is heading? Would we have more citizens who could name more than 5 presidents, or that could recite one single line of our constitution?
Would we have more citizens that realize that their actions throughout their life could benefit their country and aid in the continuance of the greatest country in the world?
The danger of teaching children to blindly follow an individual lies in giving that individual unchecked power. The only danger of teaching children about why their country was founded and why they live in one of the greatest places on the planet is making this country an even larger, more righteous power in this world, capable of solving every problem we encounter.
To go a step further, there are probably people in places of power that feel that preventing children from learning these lessons affords them a certain amount of “job security”, but that’s for another post (and no, I promise I’m not a conspiracy theorist).
"Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom."
-John Adams, Defense of the Constitutions, 1787
By the way, here are the lyrics to that song. There are actually two of them.
Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama
Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"
Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!
So continue —- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray —-
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
