Up until now, I haven’t mentioned anything about the President’s upcoming speech to our school children. This is mostly because I have not fully decided what side of the issue I’m on. While I am totally against Obama using this opportunity to indoctrinate our kids, or push his agenda, I can’t say that I think it is absolutely wrong for the President to give a speech targeted to students. I personally disagree with practically all of Obama’s policies, but elections do have consequences and one of those consequences is having to watch him give speeches to schools. Bush Sr. did it on a national scale, just like Obama plans to do, and many other Presidents have spoken to schools in person. But there does seem to be a different feel about it with Obama. Maybe he will give a speech about the importance of education and tell our kids to study hard and do their homework. I don’t think there would be anything intrinsically wrong with this. On the other hand, he may make political statements contrary to the beliefs and values of parents. This would be wrong and would definitely cause an uproar. We’ll have to wait and see which path Obama takes.
Here are some links to what other bloggers have been saying about it,
Liberty Belle – New Media, Same Message
The Independent Bloghorn — I Pledge
Common Sense Political Thought — Public Education, Politics, and Obama
Say Anything Blog — Fergus Falls School Superintendent Attacked By Ed Schultz Over Obama School Speech
Related posts:
Personally, I don’t hold out much hope that President Obama will say kind things about our nation or its great history – if his speeches overseas are any indication – and I suspect he will promote himself and his arrogance, but maybe he’ll surprise me – I certainly hope so – children should not be used in partisan politics! I hope he takes the higher path..
My kids will be going to school on Tuesday…to the dining room…so, luckily, they’ll miss the fun in public school.
But if they were there, I’d hate for them to disrupt Obugger by calling him “King of the Moonbat Zombies,” which they came up with themselves (though I admit to dropping a few terms around the dinner table that they could use).
Actually, I’d be quite proud if they disrupted him.
Whatever he does will be a reflection of his hubris. Even if it’s just a vanilla “do good in school,” he’ll find a way to make it about him.
The more he does things like this the lower his popularity will get. I think he should address the school children every day.
Just an interesting note from the Bible and history. We know that most of the ancient rulers in the Middle East and Southern Europe were cruel tyrants beyond anything we here in the United States have ever experienced (or I dare say imagined). Nonetheless, knowing them, seeing them all around, and knowing what they were like, the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, commanded the following from Romans 13:1-7:
[1] Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
[2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
[3] For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
[4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
[5] Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
[6] For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
[7] Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Charles, are you trying to use this passage to imply that God wants us to always obey our political leaders? If so then I have to disagree. This is not what this passage means. I do not think Paul was telling us to ALWAYS obey our leaders because if we don’t we are resisting God. God is our ultimate leader and if our earthly leaders try to make us do something that goes against His law and will, then we have an obligation to disobey. I’m sure you don’t think German Christians, who sheltered and hid Jews during WW2, were disobeying God because they were going against the commands of Hitler.
I apologize for showing up at your blog and inserting scripture into a post. It is obvious to me that you are so consumed with right wing politics and hatred of anyone who disgrees with you that it would be impossible to have any sort of real conversation with you. A friend warned me about that, and so I am out of here forever. Have a nice time shooting guns for fun.
Why are you apologizing? You are welcome to insert scripture any time you want. However, if I think you are misinterpreting that scripture I will speak up. Where did I show any hatred? I merely gave a counter to your point. Do you equate that with hatred? I didn’t call you any names or say anything demeaning. I am always open to a good conversation and an exchange of ideas, but it seems to me that you only want to make a statement and cry hatred if someone disagrees with you. It appears that you are the one who is impossible to have a conversation with because you are running away and not defending your position. You are welcome here anytime and I would love to discuss this passage of scripture more if you would like.
By the way, I’m planning on doing a little target shooting on Monday and I know I’ll have fun.
Thank you. Actually, I don’t think that I would like to have a conversation here. However, just for my own education more than anything else, I was wondering if you would consent to a protracted personal interview by e-mail. I would enjoy (and you might too) an opportunity to understand the personal and historical roots of your conservative positions in a safe and nonthreatening environment. Frankly, there is much that I do not understand but would like to understand more, and it is hard to do that on the Internet where the anonymity encourages people to say things they would never say to a person’s face. You might learn some interesting things too—along the way. Like maybe this.
As for the guns, I have never owned a real one in my life. At one time, I had a pellet rifle and enjoyed shooting it for various purposes—including some major league squirrel problems here at the house. However, my wife was scared of having it or any other kind of gun in our house, so she pretty much demanded that I give it away, which I did to my brother-in-law who collects guns.
I can understand why she did that. Her dad owned guns and was pretty careless and unthinking with them. For example, he would “dooley around” examining, adjusting, and stroking the mechanical portions of his rifle, with a live round going in and out, while the barrel was waved around with people and children on the receiving end. In other words, he was thoughtless, careless, and very non-self-aware when he was working with his guns.
When he was still alive, the family would all gather at his house every weekend, and the living room would be full of people—really pretty much was most of the time. Well, one day he was messing around with his gun in the back bedroom (as described above) and a 30-06 round discharged out the barrel by accident, went through several intervening bedroom walls, and into the living room right in the area where family members are normally standing or sitting. Praise Jesus, on that one day, no one was in the direct line of fire, but knowing what normally goes on in that living room, I can tell you unabashedly that it was a miracle that no one was hit.
On another occasion, when I was a teenage kid, I walked quite innocently over to a neighbor’s house and suddenly found myself trapped (they would not let me go home—probably could have charged them with kidnapping) in the middle of an impromptu alcoholism intervention where a woman and her grown children had their alcoholic dad physically wrestled onto the floor. Everyone there, except scared little me, was in a fever-pitch of psychological and physical agitation. All of a sudden the agitated woman pulls out her revolver, waves it around wildly, and starts threatening to shoot her alcoholic husband and sons. It was one of those peak moments that a lot of people never survive, but CNN covers it all day the day after. Fortunately, something calmed this one down just enough that I was finally able to somehow escape out of the house. To this day, I do not remember quite how.
What’s my point? Yes, I know that people kill people—not guns. Personally, I have no real problem with responsible people (like you) having a nice gun collection at your house—even 100 or so. However, the problem is that my wife’s dad and the lady next door were not responsible with their gun ownership and scared the jeebers out of us with their irresponsible behavior. They did dangerous and stupid things with their guns, and they did not have personalities that were amenable to learning any better—I don’t think.
Well, whenever I hear conservatives talking about a massive liberal plot to disarm ALL of America’s gun owners and institute a liberal totalitarian regime to end freedom, that rings a little hollow with me. Outside of some small handful of backwoods communists somewhere in Michigan, I seriously doubt the existence of such a plot. What I hear are the voices of ordinary, loyal Americans like me and the voices of police officers who have been on the receiving end of what SOME everyday idiots like my father-in-law do with guns Monday through Friday.
So, just to reiterate, I have no problem with truly responsible gun ownership. I am sure that you never wave the barrels of loaded guns around in front of your children—and that’s great!!! It’s the irresponsible people that worry me and most other Americans because we don’t want our children shot accidentally by these thoughtless people. I know people that keep loaded revolvers by their night stands where the 3-year-old in the house can easily pick it up and start playing with it—with no adult around watching. One of them, a member of my family, has large, unfired military artillery rounds stored in his bedroom closet. For those of us who have had these bad experiences in our own families, it is really frustrating to us when conservatives paint us as a vast liberal conspiracy of some sort when we are just ordinary American parents out here trying to find some practical way to keep our children safe from the irresponsible gun owners—and there are a lot more of them out here than you might imagine. So, this is not about fantasy liberal conspiracies. This is about families and kids—our families and kids.
So, if we could all quit making grand conspiratorial assumptions about people we do not even know, and quit talking past each other, maybe we could find a way to keep guns in the hands of responsible people like you and out of the hands of the ordinary people who do stupid things with their guns—or find some way to make the stupid people be more responsible and less stupid with their guns. If you have an idea on how to do that, I would sure like to know about it.
How about that interview?
I would love to talk through email if that is what you would prefer. My email address is Liberty@forgottenliberty.com. I would also love to talk about the passage from Romans that you posted, and your response to my earlier questions, if you are game. I only ask that you refrain from accusing me of being “consumed with right wing politics and hatred of anyone who disgrees with you”. Especially when I was respectful and said nothing hateful. I don’t hate anyone and accusing me of doing that is not helpful to us having a honest exchange of ideas.