President Warps the Minds of our Youth (Not Piratenews) by AnthonyT

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

President Warps the Minds of our Youth (Not Piratenews)

POSTED BY: ANTHONYT
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2009 09:13
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Saturday, September 5, 2009 9:35 AM

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

I just read a report on mediamatters.org that gave me pause.

Apparently, the President addressed and took questions from students from four area middle schools in the Old Executive Office Building. According to the press secretary, the speech was broadcast live and rebroadcast by C-Span. In addition, the Instructional Television Network fed the program to schools nationwide on three different days.

The president spoke of the American vision of self-government and the need to keep faith with the unfinished vision of the greatness and wonder of America. Then the president went off on a little tangent about taxes. The president talked about his economic philosophy and his belief that other nations of the world would follow our lead on economic policy. He further suggested that his tax plan was actually going to bolster economic freedom, create jobs, and enhance the prosperity of Americans.

I was surprised to see this sort of indoctrination. I was further surprised and appalled that Right-Wing pundits and conservatives of all stripes were not decrying this behavior. It seems almost Orwellian in its attempt to program the youth with the President's personal philosophies.

Why aren't we hearing more against this President and the way that he took advantage of our children, indoctrinating them with his propaganda?

--Anthony

P.S. For those who wish to research the event in question, I provide some additional information below. I shouldn't have to do this, but the media seems hell bent on ignoring this kind of behavior.

The event took place on November 14, 1988. I was thirteen at the time, having just entered Middle School. The President was Ronald Reagan. I don't have any problem protecting kids from propaganda. But let's not be hypocrites, and admit and decry the sins of all these Maoist Ministers of Mind Warping, shall we?

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 10:24 AM

DREAMTROVE

The above post could have been more terse, but at least it wasn't verbose like a president. I recommend we abolish the position.

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 10:29 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Anthony, this does presume that american schoolchildren, many of whom are far smarter than folk realize, actually take the president any kind of seriously.

I do recall from my own treatment at the hands of school and society that the general view of those in power was bitterly hostile, since that power was in our eyes, much of the time, used to keep us in our place as lesser beings.

One event which long after the fact, that completely appalls me is the small afterschool celebration in the parking lot when Challenger blew up - we hated the school, the teachers, THAT much, enough to do something like that, and just remembering this makes me a little nauseous today.

And what we felt for the Government and Society, "Their world" that treated us so was even more bitter, words cannot quite carry it off, I don't think, if the adults had any sense, they'd be afraid, lemme tell you.

I think much of his audience, behind their politely interested facade, is going to be "oh please! he expects us to believe this bullshit?!" cause that's generally the automatic reaction of a young teen to any adult going on about what they think is best, let's not deny that.

Related note of amusement: one of my buddies who I met through a site hosting my editorials (under a penname) was something of a social engineering hacker type, and discovered the AOL Screenname assigned to Bill Clinton from one of his school textbooks, and having discovered it lapsed, recreated it for himself as both an AOL and AIM account.

Hilarity ensued - especially when he started posting some of the AIM conversations as related to Monica Lewinsky, heh heh heh.

That of COURSE drew a visit from the SS, who were not very amused about it, but he got off pretty light given that all he really did was recreate a dead screen name.

Can't find any of the news stories about it, since it wasn't well covered and this was quite some time ago, alas.

Still, it was funny - and in order for the president to have influence with schoolkids, they'd have to respect him - and frankly, they do not.

-F

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 10:43 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello Frem,

My experience was different than yours. We were solemn and shocked when Challenger blew. We loved the Flag, God, the President, and Apple Pie.

We loved the righteous wars of America and wished for the death of her enemies.

In fact, this didn't change for me for a very long time.

I did lose a lot of respect for the school system in Middle School, though. However, my ire was highly focused.

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 11:54 AM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Hmmm... I was at work, listening to the radio, when they interrupted with a bulletin saying they were going live to NASA headquarters for an update on the space shuttle Challenger.

I turned to a co-worker and joked, "What, did it blow up or something?"

Then we heard the news, and I felt about 2 nanometers tall. :(

When Columbia burned in and they interrupted (I was on my way out of Houston that day, headed home), I knew before they even said it, remembering back to the last time. And I had stayed up all night back in '81 to watch Columbia lift off on her maiden flight, the first of the shuttle flights.

I don't joke about NASA any more, because those are jokes with casualty figures.

Mike

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 11:58 AM

PIZMOBEACH

... fully loaded, safety off...

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello,

I just read a report on mediamatters.org that gave me pause.

The president spoke of the American vision of self-government and the need to keep faith with the unfinished vision of the greatness and wonder of America. Then the president went off on a little tangent about taxes. The president talked about his economic philosophy and his belief that other nations of the world would follow our lead on economic policy. He further suggested that his tax plan was actually going to bolster economic freedom, create jobs, and enhance the prosperity of Americans.

I *think* this may be one of those things where since the prez knows there are cameras and ANYTHING he says can/will be rebroadcast to millions he has to address issues that don't pertain to the audience he is speaking to at hand.
I have seen this before from other presidents from both parties in similar circumstances. When he talks about economic policy he's really speaking to the cameras/press/pundits and not the kids. I think big picture what his intention is, is to lay the ground work for his upcoming Wednesday national address.

Scifi movie music + Firefly dialogue clips, 24 hours a day - http://www.scifiradio.com Now available on your iPhone

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:32 PM

NIKI2

Gettin' old, but still a hippie at heart...

Uhhh, am I the only one who picked up on this: I THINK you were offering counterpoint to the right's recent screaming and yelling about Obama addressing kids at the beginning of the school year next week and that he was going to "indoctrinate" them? They were all pissed off that one of the questions on the material was how would the child help the President or something--which has been since omitted because of the fuss (just as paying for end-of-life counseling was omitted from the healthcare reform bill because of the lies about "death panels"...grrrrrrr).

Is that what you were pointing to? That Reagan DID do enormous indoctrination, and here they are screaming about one inocuous question? Or did I miss something?

________________________
Together we are greater than the sum of our parts

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 4:24 PM

KWICKO

Heck, Niki, I was hoping you wouldn't have to point that out. But I'm serially appalled (as in, over and over again) at how ill-informed Americans can be.

But yeah, that's what Anthony's referring too. And I applaud him for it. It was clever, it was funny, and it was all too true. If it's wrong now, is it just now BECOMING wrong, or was it wrong 20 years ago as well? And if it was, where was the outcry from the right back then?

Mike

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 5:06 PM

MANGOLO

He is the President. Somebody elected him. Part of his job as the head of the Executive branch is to inform the population of his position on issues- every single President has done it.

These wingnuts would cry foul even if Obama supported their exact policies BECAUSE they don't want him to have any success in passing legislation. That might make him....re-electable and they are very excited about a recently unemployed woman from Alaska.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86085840444

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Saturday, September 5, 2009 11:22 PM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello Niki,

Yes, you got it. It's either always wrong or its never wrong, but it doesn't just get to be wrong when someone you don't like is doing it.

The current hypocrisy and hysteria was hurting my head, and I was trying some of my hit-and-miss humor to lampoon it. ;-)

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 8:25 AM

KWICKO

Quote:
Originally posted by AnthonyT:
Hello Niki,

Yes, you got it. It's either always wrong or its never wrong, but it doesn't just get to be wrong when someone you don't like is doing it.

The current hypocrisy and hysteria was hurting my head, and I was trying some of my hit-and-miss humor to lampoon it. ;-)

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

Well, according to Geezer's Rules of Debate, you're not allowed to bring up a past President who was a Republican in comparison to criticism of the current Democratic President. So as he said, the "statute of limitations" has run out on Reagan, too.

Geez, why haven't you weighed in on this? This is right up your alley. You wouldn't want anyone to think you're hiding again, would you?

Mike

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 8:32 AM

ANTHONYT

Freedom is Important because People are Important

Hello,

I do feel that you can't ignore current bad practices just because someone previously committed them. "But Bush did it," is not, in fact a valid defense.

However, the other side of the coin is that you can not lambast only the people you don't like. If you are going to criticize this president for something, it does not behoove you to conveniently forget that you ignored or endorsed such practices a few years ago.

The correct statement would either be, "How dare Obama follow in the footsteps of Bush and Reagan in indoctrinating our youth with propaganda,"

OR,

"These things that Obama is doing do not bother me to any special degree, just as they did not bother me when Reagan and Bush did it."

My problem is when people say,

"How dare Obama do these things that make me very angry right now but which I was content to ignore with previous presidents."

--Anthony

"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 9:03 AM

KPO

Sometimes you own the libs. Sometimes, the libs own you.

Nice thread AnthonyT.

Heads should roll

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Sunday, September 6, 2009 9:13 AM

KWICKO

Quote:

"How dare Obama do these things that make me very angry right now but which I was content to ignore with previous presidents."

Bingo. Kinda my point - if one never had a problem with it before (or at least not since WhiteWater), one really shouldn't be bringing it up now.

By the way, do they still put pictures of the President in school classrooms? Does that count as "indoctrination", too?

Mike

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