 | Bob Gabordi is executive editor of the Tallahassee Democrat and Tallahassee.com. He can be reached through this blog, at bgabordi@tallahassee.com or (850) 599-2177 |
How about this: Instead of “opting out” of allowing our children to listen to an address by the president of the United States, what if we all “opt in” instead?
You know, do some parenting. Sit with them, listen to what the president says and then have a conversation about what he says and what you believe. Talk about how you feel, what you believe and why you think the president is right or wrong. Do it in a civil, respectful way of the presidency, even if you don't like this president's policies.
That’s parenting.
As I’ve written before, I didn’t vote for President Obama, primarily because I disagreed with his ideas on health care. I agree with the goals, not the details. I said it then and it is still true.
But more people voted for President Obama than for Sen. John McCain. Obama won. That’s how it works. Usually.
Now that he is the president, he is the president. Nothing more, nothing less.
The president’s desire to speak to school children across the nation in a single address in all the schools is a novel idea and has political opponents demonizing his intent. There are reports of entire schools opting out.
There was a time when schools were viewed as places where education would occur, where ideas from all sides could be discussed and dissected, not dismissed. Now we simply eliminate thought. When the list of things we can’t talk about grows longer than the list of what we can talk about, we might as well shut the buildings down and turn off the lights. The party’s over.
In blogs, message boards, radio talk shows and mainstream media the president of the United States is being called both a fascist and a socialist, although I don’t think you can be both at the same time. But we’ve stopped teaching civics and government, so no one remembers the difference.
The casual use of words like Nazi and fascist to described the president is inappropriate and ignorant, disrespecting the families of the millions upon millions of people killed by the Nazis, including the more than 6 million murdered in concentration camps.
This is getting way out of hand; the rhetoric is outlandish, even nonsensical, bordering on hysterical. I disagree with some of his politics, but President Obama is none of these things. He is a liberal Democrat whose ideas were placed before the American people and won the vote.
The way to defeat his ideas is with better ones, not “opting out” of the discussion, hiding behind walls of name calling.
When we can’t see beyond the politics to allow children to listen to the president of the United States, fear and hate have won and our country has lost.
So, parents, think it through before you sign that paper opting out. Think about what you are truly opting out of.
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