The indoctrination speech that wasn't

OK, I wanted this to be about everyday joys but something has been going on that is making me angry and confused. So here goes. Please remember as you read the following that I am a liberal Democrat, mom of 2 who are currently waiting for school to begin while our teachers strike.

President Obama addressed the nation's school children today. We have known this was coming and since it was first announced conservatives have been saying that children should not be made to listen to the speech because it is President Obama indoctrinating our children into his socialist agenda. This viral completely inaccurate statement perpetuated by the idiotic ramblings of people like Glenn Beck prompted the White House to release the text of the speech prior to the president giving it. In all of the ramblings not one of them had even seen what the speech was about, and since they had no facts they did what seems to be their forte, they made up facts.

The speech was wonderful, telling students to not decide you are a failure or that it is OK to fail because of your life circumstances. That is an indoctrination that I give my children all of the time. He said giving up on yourself was giving up on your country. How can we even begin to argue about this when we ask our children everyday to pledge allegiance to that same country. Pledging and allegiance without understanding what it means IS indoctrination. Yet if I were to ask that my child be allowed to leave the classroom during this I am considered a bad parent and un-American and a few other things that I don't believe should be written.

Our teachers are on strike now taking a stand for our children in our district, asking for more time with the students and smaller classes. Other districts think that telling children that what the leader of their nation has to say is somehow bad is taking a stand for the children, it is not, it is using the children as a political pawn.

The Arlington Texas school district elected not to show the speech. A parent even handed out fliers at his child's school telling parents to oppose children watching the speech. After the parent watched the speech he admitted that there was no socialist indoctrination in the speech. Maybe waiting until you have information and facts before speaking is a lesson that he and his child can learn together. The Arlington District on the other hand, I believe, is a lost cause, they stopped students from listening to The President of the United States, but will be busing 5th and 6th graders to Dallas Cowboy Stadium to listen to former President Bush. Where is the copy of the speech he will give, and are provisions being made for parents to opt out of that one?

Learning about our government and that you have a right to disagree with what is said should be in every school curriculum. Learning that a few loud mouth people get to make policy for everyone should never be part of the curriculum.

So my soapbox rantings are over, I expect that many will disagree with me, possibly even those in my own family, and I welcome that as long as they are respectful of my right to have my opinion.