The leader of the free world had a message for your children and many parents didn’t want their children to hear it. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Some parents were actually planning to keep their children at home. Several school districts elected not to share the speech.
 |
Are you crazy? This is the president of the United States. He had something important to say and not only did your children need to hear it, you should have heard it as well. Last Tuesday I sat in my car and listened to the speech during my lunch break. I would have loved to have heard that speech about 43 years ago.
As much as parents think can inspire their children it doesn’t always work that way. Often the parent is too close to the forest to see the trees. They want to see their children do what they didn’t do or live out their dream.
When President Obama said to find out what you are good at and pursue it I almost cried. He said so much that young people needed to hear. I thought I knew what I was good at but senior people in my household (that would be the parents) did not support that. I was middle aged before I really began working my dreams.
After the speech, several young people were interviewed locally and they got what President Obama was putting down. He talked about setting goals, doing your homework and finding that adult that you can trust. Of course trust is the operative word there and it might not always be your parents. Especially those parents who didn’t want their children to hear what the president had to say.
I would be curious to know what the children who were kept at home did for the day. My guess is a combination of television, twitter, texting and eating junk. You know that old saying “cutting off your nose to spite your face,” I think that is what is happening in relation to our new president. The people who didn’t vote for change are determined to make the next four years the worst of his life.
Who ever heard of telling your kids you don’t have to listen to the president? It’s like telling them they don’t have to listen to their teacher or going to school and telling the teacher my mother said I don’t have to take this test or listen to what you have to say. Do these parents know how stupid they sound? This was a motivational speech to give young people some hope. To let them know that it’s OK to be different, it’s OK to fail and keep trying and it’s OK to be from a single parent household.
I’m sure you’ve heard or read the speech by now but I was so ticked by the people who opposed it that I couldn’t stop talking about it. He explained that you have to work hard, do your homework, study and listen to your parents and teachers. Don’t all parents want support like this or just a few?
I do believe that bigotry and prejudice is behind all of the opposition to President Obama. Attention Obama haters, it’s time to get over it. He is the president of the United States of America. Be clear.
(E-mail the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com.)