Our President’s Message: Nothing NewPosted by admin on September 9th, 2009
I love our Prez as much as the next Democrat, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed by his long-awaited speech to schoolchildren yesterday morning. As a student of political science, I heard too many trite phrases to be impressed with his message. While Obama is himself a case for the value of an education, I am saddened by his lack of courage (or political pugnacity) when it comes to disclosing the reality of his hardships to our youth.
While the theme of his speech was personal responsibility, his line of reasoning was filled with played-out patriotism:
“…And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future…”
I can appreciate where this is coming from: a genuine place of concern for progeny, a presidential need to inspire the downtrodden and better the best, and a father’s didactic heart. Obama did reach out to kids who are struggling in school by saying that he had been there –sharing the well-known anecdote about his early morning lessons with his mother. Still, he shirked his own personal responsibility by placing all the blame for less-than-desirable circumstances squarely in the kids’ laps.
When did the man running our country –the black icon — decide to start mimicking the aging, conservative, white men he succeeded? This “do it for your country” mentality is like parental bribery. It doesn’t give a child someone to look up to, but makes him feel like even less of a true American if he can’t yank his bootstraps up quite far enough to permanently change the course of his life.
“But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home — none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.”
I think there are plenty of excuses — legitimate ones. But the very fact that we call happenstance an “excuse” means we indoctrinate our youth too quickly with an awareness of just how large a cloud of failure can surround a person in this world in which we must always be movin’ on up. Tell the kids it’s their problem, and it will never be ours. It’s worked so far, and it’s the easiest philosophy to adapt in times of swaying ideology.
In true Obama fashion, the speech included a variety of historical and personal references. After listing a few examples of famous people who have endured hardship, he said:
“These people succeeded because they understood that you can’t let your failures define you — you have to let your failures teach you.”
Good point, if it weren’t followed by this:
“And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don’t ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
“The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.”
Having worked with children of all ages in an educational context for quite a few years, I understand that what they need more than anything is context. Context should ultimately factor in a broad sense of purpose, but that purpose should focus on the intersection between the self and the cause. A country is not a cause, but it is full of them. Kids need to see how their math homework will prepare them for reaching their immediate goals and confronting those amorphous long-term effects of today’s decisions. Guilt is not inspiration, and President Obama poured on the guilt.
I have no doubt that it was partially a result of the pressure to rid his speech of “socialist” ideas that its message became obviously directed toward the patriotic duty inherent in compulsory education. Part of me is angry at his cowardly critics for pushing him into oversimplification, and the other part wishes that Obama the Politician would show us more of Obama the Man. Obama the Man knows that hard work is not the only factor in worldly success. Although he has achieved the kind of success we are all taught to admire, there are layers to him and his experience that, with adequate exposure, could redefine success for the next generation.
September 9th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I didn’t get to see Obama’s speech, and I’m not a fan of his, but… I think it’s important for kids to be encouraged to do their best to leave their outside problems behind in an effort educate themselves. Nobody can make them succeed unless they want it. Granted, there are instances that are nearly impossible to leave behind–especially at certain ages, but that’s why surrounding oneself with strong positive support is just as important as learning and striving to reach one’s potential.