These “patriots” who yanked their children from school today to censor their opportunity to hear the President of the United States encourage them to learn, grow and respect themselves and others – shames us internationally. How is that patriotic? I feel like I need to apologize to the world.
During the Bush years I wanted to apologize for the ignorance of our President. Now I want to apologize for the millions who are truly stunted enough to buy into the histrionic ravings of verifiably unstable exploding heads.
It is the very decline in our standard of education over the years that has contributed to the type of mentality that prompts this type of ignorance. Teachers cannot combat a non-existent world view that teaches children to be intolerant and dismissive of intellectual growth.
So…who gave the honorable message today? President Obama – hands down!
Versus the bigoted, fear-laden, paranoid message demonstrated to children across this country by “adults” (and I use that term loosely) who actually felt justified in not only censoring their children, but picketing his speech. It’s pathetic…truly pathetic…
Embarrassment-the word of the day. My jaw dropped when my 14 year old told me that her best friend's mother-a TEACHER in our public(SOCIALISM!) school system wrote a letter to her children's school stating that she did not want them to see the speech because,"it is of no educational value".
WOW.
The reality is that these extremists HATE our public school system, and have for many years. The home-schooling movement is fueled by the Dominionists, with rare exception. Their revisionist text books are completely un-American and seek to indoctrinate as many children as possible into total compliant ignorance.
Ignorance is not only expensive – but dangerous!
This has been a moment of national shame for our country. I am too upset to even think about it, frankly. Thanks for posting this.
I love your new blog and your points are RIGHT ON.
Thank you Sarah…it is very upsetting and disturbing. And I am sorry that any of us have to spend our time and energy on this type of shameful intolerant behaviour…but I am glad you are out there.
It's a pity the dominionists are the driving force in homeschooling. Poisons the well for those of us who have other reasons to dislike the public school system, like, say, the fact I was always bored in class, or my girlfriend's teachers were placing bets that she would never graduate? And I get lumped in with this *scum* because I don't want any kids I may raise to go through what my girlfriend and I went through. (Well, I *did* grow up in a very fundamentalist family.)
I'm outraged with my state. I was feeling quite good because there didn't seem to be any outrage by Hawaiians over the President's speech. There was nothing about it either way in our papers so I figured it was going on as planned. Then last night I found out that the Dept. of Education did NOT allow any school to show the speech. We have a centralized educational system (fought against for years) based in Honolulu under a Republican administration so there are no individual districts who are able to make their own decisions. Parents found out about it only by calling their schools and asking. I found out last night by reading comments on a different topic. One of the comments, obviously from the right, attempted to justify the criticism by the other comments said that the decision was because of the time difference. What a load of BULL. I was so ticked off, I fired off an email to the Board of Education letting them know what I thought of them and asked them to justify the decision. I asked that if their decision was based on the time difference, were they planning on showing the video at a more convenient time? Needless to say I haven't heard back. I would have included the Superintendent of Schools but surprisingly – there is no email or phone numbers listed for them. OMG!
I had to shake my head for several minutes before responding. ANY one who thinks that we can continue to sit back and let these extremists become any further entrenched into our systems MUST read your comment.
This is going on across the country and the ONLY reason they succeed is because too many of us refuse to get involved or acknowledge that they exist in numbers…and that if we just ignore them they will cease to advance. Wrong!
Kat, I applaud you for getting right on the phone and taking a direct proactive stance. Don't ever feel like that does not matter. It does…good job!
O-M-G!!! Un-(you-know-what)-believable! Where did this woman get her education? And what is her definition of "educational value"?
That video was pathetic, but it inspired this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofxVMlU97yA&fe…
Hysterically funny – enjoy!
LOL…thanks! I needed that! Especially before calling it a night…
I hope you caught this Republican stooge who tried to argue that President Obama is too charismatic to be allowed to speak to school children – I guess he has so much persuasive power he must be treated like a controlled substance. He is so persuasive in his admonition to work hard in school that parents wouldn't be able to convince their kids of their contradictory opinion – to not do well in school? Now that makes my head hurt:
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/joe-watkins-…
We need a judge like this one – unfortunately it is from Canada:
http://www.democraticunderground.org/discuss/dubo…
I can just imagine that if there were a ruling like that here in the USA we would soon have teabaggers carrying signs demanding their right to ignorance.
And more for your ginormous wall of shame :
This guy: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/9/779065/-Ho…
And I've been following the story of the evangelical, homeschooling Chairman of the SC Board of Ed who is also a writer of hardcore erotic fiction – apparently she has fled to Canada:
http://www.fitsnews.com/2009/08/31/sex-education/
I'm enjoying your new site Leah!
Ooooohhh….Anne! Thank you! And all that with my coffee this morning! I feel a blog coming on! Ummm…2 blogs! You can't MAKE this stuff up! This is the kharma effect in action. We will keep highlighting them, and reporting. Keep those leads coming!
Wow, Can there really be so much ingornace and naivate in this country. Have any of you actually lived under a dictatorial regime? (I have). Have any of you exprienced the opression imposed by the rule of the "one", where whatever the "father leader" said is unquestioned and written on plackards for all to worship to? (I have). I came to this country precisely to escape from such a regime, and here I find people like you have no understanding of the freedoms bestowed upon you by your founding fathers. I've studied the US Constitution and and will bow my head to it for the miracle of freedom that it has conveyed upon America — but I will never again bow my head to a government aparatchik.
Take some advice from someone who has lived the oppression that you all aspire to bring upon yourselves. Respect and cherish the Office of the Presidency – it is powerful symbol of American jurisprudence and republican might. But do not extend your worship to include the man (or woman) that fills that role, lest you direct your aim toward a dark and unforgiving place that people have given their lives to escape from.
Norbert, I have read this twice and am endeavoring to understand who you are astonished by…my writing or the subject of my writing. Yes, there can be this much ignorance and naiveté all across this planet. As embarrassing the GOP has been acting in light of their obstructionism and organized rallies of Hatriots and Teabaggers, I know that as Americans we certainly are not unique in this.
I am writing about a potential oppressive "regime" who are extremists in this country that feel it is their destiny to control all secular institutions. So no…I do not want to be oppressed, that is the major THRUST of this blog. So if you came here to escape that type of one-rule government…then please study what we are writing about here. I am in total agreement with you on that point.
I absolutely respect and cherish the Office of the Presidency and am thankful that we have a true democracy (save for corporate influence). I do not practice idolatry of any person who holds that office. That is off point and no one human is worthy of that. This is not about worship of an individual but about respect for the Office and learning how to disagree with decorum.
Insofar as your perception of embarassment in the face of world opinion, the only feedback I am getting from my broad base of contacts throughout Europe and the free world, is disbelief and puzzlement as to why America is undoing the very things that have made it the envy of the world and the last bastion of a truly free society. Indeed, there is a reason to be embarassed, but its for the countless faux pas made and blatently stupid actions this administration has taken in the last 9 months.
As for the perception of embarrassment, I too routinely test the tepid waters in other countries including friends in Europe, Australia, China, Nigeria and elsewhere and the overall response I get back is a relief that Geo Bush is no longer in office, and astonishment at the debt that was left behind…topped off with a total lack of respect for the behavior of our elected officials…but mostly of the republican members who are drowning in scandal and name calling.
It seems you have an interesting mix have right/left/right wing schizophrenic politics. I will take the "stupid" actions of this administration in its first 9months…over the "stupid actions of the last administration in its 1st 9 months!! Hands down!