propaganda - does that come with fries?

 the first headline from an online social networking site i read yesterday made me giggle. somebody actually thought our kids were going to have to stand and take some kind of oath to the president. i followed the links and was dismayed to see that someone had posted a blog, deliberately misleading her readers into thinking she was citing sources for the president's speech next week. when i commented as such, the owner of that particular post (not the blog) accused me of not getting all the facts before making up my mind. he was right. i was dead tired and hadn't done my research before declaring the blog (not an actual news source, ladies, her personal scratchings just like mine) utter bullocks.

research i have done.

my opinon has not wavered.

michelle malkin's blog , dated 9-2-09, posts a video which was originally posted to youtube.com on 19 january 2009. proof? the posting date is underneath the name of the poster on the right-hand side of the video. this video depicts a few dozen starlets pledging themselves to change in america - although i think we could have done without knowing about the guy who pledges to conserve water by only flushing when he takes a dump from now on. and i admit, the guy who says he will no longer flip people the bird while driving is a bit off-color, to those that don't actually drive in real traffic. and the two folks who creepily pledge themselves... yeah, that could have been left out. but that was not the message at all. and that message isn't even the topic for next week's address to the school children of our nation. to the school administrator who probably didn't view the whole video and showed it to the sheltered classroom in utah - kick him in the pants and move on. everyone makes mistakes. to everyone else in an uproar - keep reading.

the department of education sent out a letter on 8-24-09 to school districts announcing the president's address, stating that its primary goal was to empower kids to set goals, work hard, and stay in school longer. sounds kind of like a pep rally gone global. that has the potential to be pretty cool. there are suggested classroom activities to pair with the speech but they are by no means listed as mandatory. there is a video contest described on the webpage as well as several FAQs. from the panic ensuing across the interwebz, it does not appear that half the country has even read the letter or the questions. (hint: click on the colored letters. they are links to what i'm discussing).

this address to the children of the nation is not new. the associated press (a real live news source) reports that former presidents ronald reagan and george h. w. bush delivered similar speeches to students. to say that the president wants to do some sort of swearing in or indoctrination is ludicrous. in my opinion, which is just as valid as michelle malkin's, someone who does not favor the current president has purposefully started a smear campaign on the president's good intentions, just for readership. go conspiracy theorists! wooo!

for the parents clamoring for the ability to "grant permission" to allow this monstrosity to occur next week: get on microsoft word and create yourself a permission slip. or, here's a thought, GO with them! what a concept. parents inside a school contributing to the education of their kids and not a cupcake in sight.

for the parents who say they will pull their kids out of school if their district decides to show it: would you have been that disrepectful to any other president? any at all? there is no problem sitting in the classroom and watching a shuttle blow up or watching the inaguration or watching the moon landing, but the president isn't allowed to encourage your child to be his or her best? how self-centered.

for the parents who claim that the president is a fascist-communist-whatever-else-evil-you-can-dredge-up: just wow. that's all i can come up with. you will be able to view the speech in its entirety after it is posted on the white house blog on monday. take a peek. wow... with imaginations like that, you guys should totally be writing new primetime television scripts.

i pledge to keep an open mind; to view the world through my half-full glass and to teach my children that everyone has a voice, regardless of whether we agree or not. i pledge to continue to reduce our family's output of material waste, using a composter in our yard and switching our appliances to surge switches that can turn off everything plugged in all at once, reducing our use of nonrenewable energy. i pledge to remain calm and keep my friends close, even if they jump off the deep end with conspiracy theories.

*sniff* i love you man. group hug? oh, wait. i've been sitting here so long, i gotta pee first.

ETA: unverified: NPR reportedly announced that the homework/accompanying curriculum has been removed due to parental concern. so now your child can just listen. um, yeah.