Despite the build-up and controversy that has surrounded Obama’s speech directed at American students that took place on Sept. 8, the speech was remarkably devoid of political leanings and certainly didn’t match the media hype. In fact, the speech may have been just a bit too basic
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The build-up to this very non-partisan speech was tremendous—and many media outlets reported on the nationwide phenomenon of schools refusing to show the live-broadcasted speech to students to “protect†students.
The apparent goal of the speech was to welcome students to the new school year school and encourage American students to put forth their most sincere efforts into their schoolwork. Obama also focused in on the almost aggressively bland topic of… the importance of hand washing.
To call the speech an indoctrination of America’s youth, a revolutionary insight, or any other extreme statement— either positive or negative—would be more than a stretch.
This is not to say that Obama’s speech was bad. In fact, it made some very reasonable and truthful points about a student’s responsibility to take charge of their own education. However, it is commonplace for many students to constantly hear this from teachers and parents and they are surely aware that they can’t succeed in life unless they take an initiative and actually do their best in school.
Obama relied too much on his reputation as an orator, spoke in clichés, and ended up sounding like just another school administrator lecturing students on the importance of good work ethic. All of this was part of a failed attempt to avoid the inevitable controversy and media circus that occurs anytime Obama or a member of his family lifts a finger.
This speech is truly evidence that the media’s coverage of the Obama presidency is filled with controversy-baiting over trivial and unimportant matters. In an attempt to survive in the midst of a failing industry, many American journalists lazily focus on trivial issues to get the attention of readers and get credit for “speaking out†and starting the latest fad of controversies over truly irrelevant, non-political issues.
Obama’s handling of health care, the economy, and education itself are worthy of discussion and controversy. In fact, disagreement and dialogue are essential to the democratic process. However, controversy over a very basic speech about trying hard in school and the infamous “beer summit†seem like formulaic media constructions intended to draw out raw emotions from Americans.
Quite honestly, these “mini controversies†that seem to pop up on a weekly basis are just distracting Americans from serious issues that actually have a profound impact on the their lives and well-being. Regardless, people just want to take the easy way out. It’s a lot easier to focus on over-hyped controversies than to actually research the healthcare system, learn about world conflicts our country is involved in, and take a stand on human rights issues.
Right now, Americans have a choice between two paths: taking the easy way out or confronting political issues head-on. If we’re actually going to make this country a better place, we need to stop treating politics like a gossip column. Let’s discuss what Obama should do to improve education, instead of just homing in on a basic speech to American students and labeling it as indoctrination.