President Barack Obama's address to the students of the U.S. today has garnered quite a lot of controversy and criticism.
Republican critics and parents are worried this is just an attempt to push his ideals on children.
But the idea of people, especially parents, not supporting a call to action for students to work hard and do well in school is terrible. Getting students to work hard and stay in school is a bipartisan issue.
Because of the hoopla, school districts across the nation, including several in Indiana, are giving students and parents the option to watch the speech and some have decided not to show it.
Regardless of his political views and pundits' opinions of him, Obama fits into, at least, a loose definition of a good person.
These criticisms are petty at best and reflect unfounded fears that Obama is the anti-Christ.
Put your guard down and your politics aside for a few minutes. The Communist faction hiding in the shadows can't brainwash the youth of the nation in one 20-minute speech.
This isn't some insidious attempt to poison the minds of children and tempt them into joining the dark side. It's the same speech these students hear every year from guest speakers, coaches and teachers. But, the message might be a little more powerful coming from the leader of the country.
The speech probably won't light a fire in a high school sophomore who hasn't cared about school his whole life or a fifth grader who doesn't have the greatest support system at home or school. But it might. The education system in the U.S. is less than amazing, to put it nicely (thanks No Child Left Behind Act). Why not set aside a few minutes to tell them they can do better than the previous generation?
Obama has a way of inspiring people. He brought out the largest number of youth voters in history in the past election. This speech could be what some young students need to motivate them to do good work in school.
College students could gain something from the speech as well. We aren't telling you to skip class to watch it live. You've heard everything he has to say a thousand times before. But catch it later on YouTube or any other Web site. Even if you're against him giving the speech, watch it so you know what he said.
If the speech does anything, it won't be detrimental unless a small possibility of students doing better in school is a bad thing. The vast majority of the target audience isn't old enough to vote and still won't be for the next election.
Wasting time on this and other non-issues doesn't help anything. The amount of pride one needs to swallow to agree with the opposition on something like this is small. It's like half a teaspoon - a large raisin at most.
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