After I read this on Twitter I got up the next morning with the full intention of writing something like: “If you are keeping your kid at home because you are afraid they will by indoctrinated by the President, you should have your head examined.” No matter what you think, it’s impossible to indoctrinate a kid with one speech, song or dance.
I grew up in a country where the whole government agencies, press and TV, the educational system and the workplace were dedicated to brainwashing and indoctrinating the masses from the earliest age. Something like this:
I grew up surrounded by the sea of red, portraits of every foreign and domestic communist leader ever born, I read and quoted Lenin’s works, speeches by every General Secretary from 1976-88, I wore red tie to school and carried a sign in the May Day demonstration. Yet I don’t know anyone of my age or even from my parents’ generation who really believed in the things we were bombarded with every day. People could have been more or less enthusiastic about their jobs, or the future of the country but most of the them saw right through the official propaganda.
For example, one could encounter a giant poster quoting another lengthy speech by L.I.Brezhnev. A million people could have passed by without being able to tell what it says.
When the General Secretary presented another 4-hour speech, it was first broadcast on every TV and radio channel, sometimes more than once. The next day every paper published the entire speech. If it was important enough, it was then published as a separate pocket-sized booklet for easy reference. If you still didn’t get enough, you could purchase a record for some alone time with the speech.
L.I.Brezhnev:Speech at the 28th Congress of the Communist Youth
Then came the studying and discussions in schools and workplaces. Even at this stage most people didn’t read the speech and mostly plucked out some relevant-sounding quotes. I started many of my compositions with a quote from a speech; once I showed up at the science exam with whatever speech was being discussed at the time and started my answer with a quote about science. I did it because I thought I was clever, everyone was in on the scam including the instructors.
So no matter how much your kid listens to the President, nothing will happen because 99% of the kids will spend the time looking out of the window, or picking their nose, or doodling, that’s what kids do. Even if some portion of the speech will make it past the usual distractions there is nothing wrong with a little encouragement in the system which already has a “public option” and specializes in producing pretty mediocre students by the world standards (I’ll leave it to the local expert on world placements to provide the exact data). As for me personally, I hope that I imparted enough common sense and healthy skepticism on my child to see the things for what they are.
That would’ve been my post until I saw this: Menu of Classroom Activities President Obama’s Address to Students Across America (PreK‐6). The whole text is taken straight out of the Soviet propagandist’s handbook. I could put a check-mark by each of the suggested activities, been there, done that. This doesn’t make it scary or evil; stupid may be, overreaching, unauthentic, insincere, and uncomfortably submissive.
What do you think the president wants us to do?
I don’t know anyone who’d done something in their life because that’s what the president, or Grandpa Lenin, or Comrade Stalin, or whoever wanted them to do (forced labor or military drafts and such aside). I grew up among intelligent people who valued education and I am trying to provide the same motivation to my own child, mostly by pointing out various dirty low-paying jobs reserved for school drop-outs. I really don’t care if that’s what the president wants us to do, or if like the previous president he wants us to own a pet goat. My own experience tells me that artificial and stilted debate only promotes apathy and cynicism. Any attempt to generate еxcitement leads to insincere canned replies. So while I am not worried about the speech or the idiotic postmortem discussion sponsored by the department of education, I do feel sorry for the teacher who will have to facilitate this. And there is no way my kid will miss a day of school. Not because the president wants her to study but because I said so.
And in this particular household the President is not in charge.
The increasingly quick and intellectually lazy resort to calling opponents “Nazi” and “socialist/communist” is really disheartening to me. Thanks again, Meesha, for reminding us what the words really mean.
I know,not many of these people can produce the next sentence after “he is like hitler” or “he is like stalin”.so we may never know why they think that.
I’m sure these shoot-from-the-lip types who are dying to blame the President for everything from long stoplights to fleas on dogs have not hesitated to let their kids watch regular television constantly from the time the kids were knee high to the cat. That is far worse indoctrination to a culture of consumption and short hand ideas than is a single speech from Obama on why it’s important to get an education. Listening to these folks would be comical if they didn’t have offspring.
My kid is too young for school, but I’d give her the “menu” and have her comment on that. I think the indoctrination comes not from directly following speeches, but from controlling the background noise and what seems reasonable. Setting up the terms of the debate to range all the way from A to B.
I think that you are correct that artificial debate promotes cynicism, but we can’t expect much sophisticated thinking from those at the “Get your government hands of my Medicare” level.
GHW Bush gave a speech to schools, there wasn’t a ripple of controversy. I think alot of well intentioned people, who love their kids, have bought into the ravings of the far right talk show hosts. You almost get the image of Obama giving a speech to school kids while a big hypnotic spiral swirls behind him. Whatever else he may or may not be, evil mind controlling socialist isn’t one of them. The left is just as bad at times with the burn Bush and Cheney at the stake rhetoric. The more people shout about change or taking a stand, the more unreasonable they seem to become in their thought process. If they don’t want their kids to hear the speech then don’t let them, but why try to make it some huge hidden agenda conspiracy? Seems a tad melodramatic to me.
Very well said.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but all of these fears of Obama indoctrinating children and installing himself as dictator seem to be incredibly unfounded to me. After all, we still have a Supreme Court in this country, don’t we?
With that said, I see your point regarding the Menu of Activities. This is targeted at elementary school children, none of whom is capable of engaging in a legitimate political discussion, but I highly doubt Obama is planning on using the speech as a platform to increase his power. I think this is just more fear-mongering from the far right, many of whom seem to believe this is their only effective political tactic.
As for propaganda, let’s not forget, some propagandizing is accepted practice among school children in this country, i.e., the Pledge of Allegiance. Having children recite the Pledge from an early age is a perfect example of propaganda, as the children have absolutely no idea what this means, but are subconsciously developing a sense of national identity and patriotism. I’m not saying it’s wrong, just pointing out a fact.
Right you are, Brian. I didn’t realize until relatively recently that the words “under God” were only inserted into the pledge in 1954 by an act of Congress, in rebuke to Meesha’s godless nation … likewise, “In God We Trust” on money (1955).
I thought using a quote on the science exam was clever. It made me laugh, at least.
There was a time (mostly before me) when note using enough quotes would get you in trouble.
The problem, as I see it, is that YOU are not representative of the parents in my husband’s school. You care and are actively involved in your daughter’s education and have set that as her top priority and you enforce it. Strong study skills and caring about grades and learning all begins at home. He has children in his fifth-grade class who are reading at a first-grade level. I would wager that’s because nobody READ to their babies in the first two years, and the television was a substitute for a book. So if it takes seeing Barack Obama on TV, reminding them that reading, learning, and studying are the only way they will rise above and out of their current situation, I say more power to him. It utterly sucks that we have to hope (used intentionally) a presidential speech can cut through and impact the lack of parenting skills.
FWIW, I hate the pledge too, not that it did much for me.
I’m catching up on overdue reading. I wish I would have read this a few weeks ago. Very interesting take on the controversy and an enlightening comparison. Thanks.