The outrage over the President’s speech tomorrow is, as I expected, continuing. The problem? Well, the speech he was going to give was socialist brainwashing propaganda. You know, he wrote a new one. Yes, the speech he’s going to give NOW is a great speech they say. Perfectly worthy and good for any President to give to students. It’s that OTHER speech that was EVIL. This isn’t the speech he was originally going to give, even though all along the White House has said the speech was going to be about staying in school, getting and education, goal setting, and setting priorities.

Last week, Jim Greer had some things to say about the President’s speech to school kids. I posted about it. It was crazy talk. He’s on one of the news channels right this minute, and here’s what he has to say about it now:

“My kids will be watching the speech, as I hope all kids will. I don’t advocate children not watching this President’s speech with THIS text. Now who knows what last week’s speech might have looked like.”
–Jim Greer, Chairman Florida GOP

See what I mean? Oh sure, this speech is FINE. It was last week’s speech that was going to convert the children into little walking socialist robots!

Then, of course, there are the evil socialist brainwashing techniques contained in the suggested after-speech activities. I’ve been wanting to post about them since the poo-flinging started, but as a former educator, it’s not possible for me to come to any conclusions on a suggested lesson plan or activity until I have examined the information it is based upon. Now that I have, I want to backtrack to the one suggestion that caused the most outrage and was unfortunately rewritten by the White House.

“Teachers can extend learning by having students write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”

That suggestion doesn’t live in a void. It was to be directly related to what the President, in his speech, was asking students to help him with. And what are those things he is asking students to help him with? Staying in school, working hard, excelling at what they desire to do with their lives, inventing new technologies, curing diseases, creating a better society and civilization. In light of the text of the speech, there was nothing at all wrong with the above suggestion. In fact, all Americans –particularly those with children– should ask themselves what they can do to help the President get kids to study hard and excel.

And yes … holding people accountable for such things as saying they will do their homework on time or study harder for tests and so on is important. It’s easy for kids (and adults) to say things. Following through is usually somewhat more difficult and annoying.

One of the other lesson plan suggestions that has been causing some grief among the insane and ignorant is this one:

“Why is it important that we listen to the president and other elected officials, like the mayor, senators, members of Congress, or the governor? Why is what they say important?”

I didn’t even have to see the text of the speech to answer this one, and my answer applies to anyone living within the borders of this country. It’s important to listen to what all our elected officials have to say, whether or not we personally agree with what they are saying, because they have power over our lives. I couldn’t stand President Bush and disagreed with him on almost every single thing he ever said or did, and yet for 8 years, I watched or read every public word that came out of his mouth, as I do all the elected officials who are representing me and making decisions about the society I live in.

If I didn’t listen to them, I wouldn’t know what they were thinking of doing, and I wouldn’t be able to make my voice heard either in agreement or disagreement. Sticking one’s fingers in one’s ears and screaming “La la la! Can’t hear you!” may play well into the concept of ignorance being bliss, but it won’t be blissful if they pass some legislation that totally screws up your life. Thus, listening to them is important.

And one other suggestion after-speech discussion questions causing some uproar is yet again another that requires looking at the base material before making any grand assumptions:

“Students might think about: What specific job is he asking me to do? Is he asking anything of anyone else? Teachers? Principals? Parents? The American people?”

Well, having now read the speech, what IS he asking students, teachers, principals, parents and the American people to do? Work hard, study, help kids get a great education and stick with it, excel, invent, create, advance our civilization and make our country even better than it has been. A student’s job is to study and work hard at school and to become productive citizens, and quite frankly our educational system, our parents, and the kids themselves have been failing in this regard. They all need to stop failing, and everyone –even the students– need to work harder on this “job” of creating a better educated society.

All the same, a few days ago, that suggested post-speech lesson and the others sent chills down Peggy Venable’s spine, because she hadn’t seen the text upon which the suggestion was based, and naturally assumed it was going to be some socialist brainwashing mantra. I doubt she will retract her blathering. In fact, I full expect her to jump on the “well THIS speech is fine, but who knows what last week’s speech would have looked like” bandwagon.

And that’s what I mean by “some kinds of crazy have no cure.” It’s conspiracy-thinking mindset. It’s a boogieman around every corner. If something is proved beyond a doubt not to be the boogieman they expected it to be, they change their complaint to something tangentially related but new and equally ignorant and foolish … never offering any proof of their own that what they believe is at all the truth. No, the burden of proof in their world is always laid at the feet of the person they disagree with, not at their own. Guilty until proven innocent.

Believing the President is (or was) going to spread socialist propaganda to school kids during a 15 minute speech continues to be just as stupid as Orly Taitz finding yet one more Kenyan birth certificate for Obama and filing yet one more lawsuit (which she is doing, and the first hearing is tomorrow). But it won’t stop the conspiracy theorists who see a socialist around every corner no matter what the White House does or says. They are simply going to continue to see the boogieman everywhere. It truly is a kind of crazy with no cure … except perhaps a better education for the next generation, provided their parents allow them to get one.