The Sky is Falling

There are two characteristics which I believe plague our society today, self-absorption and immediate gratification. Examples of these cultural toxins have been emphasized periodically in blogs past. The hot topic these past couple of weeks, for whatever reactionary fueled reason, has been yesterday’s address to students by this country’s President. There was, and still lingering, public outcry over said address, by a segment of the neo-conservative faction that isn’t so neo. The biggest difference between the far right wing of yesteryear and today is what motivates them.
What was the big goddamn deal about a President speaking to a school age audience? It’s not like it never occurred before, and why would anyone give a forum to those so devoid of reason; which is what’s separates us from the other animals, but you could’ve fooled me by what fell out of some folks mouths. Can’t these people think for themselves instead of regurgitating whatever the Rush Limbaugh’s, Sean Hannrity’s, and Bill O’Reilly’s of the world spew forth? They seem to be as misguided as the Black Panthers, and The Weathermen were in the 1960’s. I'm surprised there hasn't been talk of impeachment yet, groundless yes, but no doubt coming.
Nothing our President said yesterday had anything to do with a political agenda, indoctrination, or brainwashing, as some claimed was his intent. Are you fucking kidding me? Maybe he had some subliminal message written on his eyelids like the girl in Indiana Jones archeology class did, and every time our President blinked, children across the country turned into socialist zombies similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Maybe our President was going to say something truly seditious like “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Or, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Both statements by Presidents the far right believed had socialist leanings. We don’t want our youth taking things like that to heart! That said, okay boys and girls, it’s history lesson time!
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, following his election in 1932, was once labeled a socialist for the government programs he pushed through Congress to combat the Great Depression. Al Smith, the Republican Party candidate compared Roosevelt to Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin for his policies. It took The New Deal, followed by another New Deal in 1934, nine years of legislation at work, and a war, before America could begin to see the economic light of day. It wasn’t until the 1952, and the election of Dwight Eisenhower, before America was once again prosperous. The economy has been, and always will be, cyclical. Due to the industrial boom of the Roaring Twenties, and the subsequent Crash of ’29, the cycle was expedited, then prolonged. The current predicament America finds itself mired in began toward the end of Bill Clinton’s term in office. Warning signs went unheeded, and 9-11 sped up an already deteriorating situation. Did we take stock in the economic indicators, no. George W. Bush made a half trillion dollar budget surplus evaporate (Woo-hoo! I got $300, how about you?), thought a war in the Middle East was a good idea, big business went unchecked, and voila, welcome to the world as we now know it. Along comes a guy who understands desperate times call for desperate measures, and conservatives are clamoring for his head after nine months. There’s that immediate gratification thing kicking in.
So our President wants to tell kids about the value of an education, and the responsibility they have to be the very best they can be. How dare he ask these kids to hold themselves accountable for their own actions! Let’s keep them from hearing this subversive message. Let’s keep handing out trophies to those who finish last. Let’s keep rewarding straight C’s with a new Sony PS3. Let’s keep allowing some parents to blame teachers for their child’s inadequacies because these very same parents haven’t done their jobs at home. Let’s keep ignoring what benefits the greater good, because, don’t you know, molly-coddling is a birthright. It’s not about the classroom performance; it’s all about today’s kids feeling good about themselves. Pardon me while I vomit.
Parents wanted to keep their kids out of school to show their displeasure with the current administration’s policies. Does this mean they can keep their kids home because they don’t like what’s being taught their kids? Does it mean these kids get to stay home because the parents don’t like the teacher, the school, the school uniform colors? Where does it end? How come no one said anything when either George Bush, or Lyndon Johnson, or Ronald Reagan, or, well, you get the idea, spoke to classrooms of kids? Howard Stern, the notorious talk radio host, cites that racism is at the root of this parental uproar. I don’t know if I agree with that, but I do believe the irate parents intentions were not only ill conceived, but damaging to the child’s perspective.
What kind of message are the kids of these narrow-minded parents receiving? If they disagree with something, just take your ball and go home? Remember parents, it wasn’t just about your kid, if you can wrap your brains around that concept. I’m sure they can’t, because, don’t you know, everything is about them. Why didn’t these parents sit down with their children and explain the differences in the Republican and Democratic elucidation of the Constitution? Tell them there have been two distinct interpretations since, well, for-ev-er. The Republicans have always believed in a liberal interpretation of the wording of the Constitution, while the Democrats have always believed in a literal version, except when it suits either one to have the opposite view.
“Mommy and Daddy don’t agree with what our President is doing, but he is still our President.” Couldn’t they have spoken to their children like that instead of bringing their form of McCarthyism into the 21st century? Oh that’s right, this very same generation of parents whine that they can’t get their kids to listen to them, or do what they say. Is that because they do everything for these kids, and they don’t hold them accountable for anything?
I wish I had the opportunity our President had. I’d have told the kids it’s time to put on your big boy and girl pants. The days of entitlement are over. You are not god’s gift to mankind regardless of what smoke your parents continue to blow up your ass. Contrary to popular belief, none of you are the second coming. You do not get everything your way just because you exist. Maximize your potential, shut up, and get cracking. If you think anybody owes you anything, you are sadly mistaken. If you think your Mommies and Daddies are going to continue to wipe your asses until you graduate college, for those that go, for some, even longer, you’ll get exactly what’s coming to you! Now everyone close their eyes, and tell me what you see. Exactly.