Only that was then and this is now. That America no longer exists. The degradation in tone and quality of our national discourse as well as the marginalizing of civic education in our public schools has created an atmosphere of intractable distrust and intolerance. As an educator, I encounter high school students regularly who cannot tell me anything about their local or national representation–not even their elected officials’ names. Their lack of knowledge comes as no surprise, however. Their government, if addressed at home, usually falls under the category of politics, a distasteful and nasty business populated by even more distasteful and nasty people. Their government, when addressed at school, usually comes in a rather dismembered form, severed from any tangible reality or life experience. And yet, these same students will profess a certain level of what they call patriotism; they love their country, what it stands for, and generally view America as a force for good in the world. But the cognitive dissonance created by how they view their democracy as an idea (worth exporting to other nations as a model) and how they view their democracy in action (not worth respecting because politicians are bad people) precludes meaningful civic engagement. These young people cannot be blamed, however. They get it honestly enough. This dissonance is rife in society in general (America is the greatest nation on earth; America’s government is corrupt and worthless) and makes for an environment that renders reasoned and respectful civic discourse impossible and suspect those who seek elected positions within it.
Fast-forward to 2009. Notions of respect and appreciation for our domestic democratic processes and ideals have changed immensely from the America described earlier. Reactionary distrust masquerades as wisdom and worldliness. Differences in values and opinions transform fellow citizens into enemies. Disagreement becomes license for overt disrespect. Ask the average American if he or she respects the Office of the Presidency, and you’re likely to get an affirmative response. Ask that same average American if he or she respects the President, and you’re likely to get an entirely different response. Finding a place for the Office of the Presidency and the living, breathing President to live together anymore is difficult if not impossible. Now, when the President of the United States of America wishes to address our schoolchildren in order to urge them to focus on their studies, work hard, and stay in school, we say no, we’ll pass. Thanks, anyway.
Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugural address in 1801, said, “The essential principles of our Government… form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty and safety.”
The day the duly elected President of the United States is unwelcome in our nation’s classrooms because he either has nothing of value to offer our children or cannot be trusted to deliver the message he states he intends to deliver is the day this nation has wandered so far from its ideals that thoughtful people should be seriously concerned.
So, with that, next Tuesday evening I will sit down with my 12-year-old son and explain to him why he and his classmates were not allowed to watch President Obama like so many other schoolchildren did around the nation that day, and I will apologize to him for the abject cynicism of the adults around him.
But this type of breakdown in the social order we built a country on didn’t just happen since January. This has been years in the making, and really is troubling.
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p>It makes me think of what Edmund Burke said in Reflections on the Revolution in France.
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but I think we’re seeing a spike in the “bigots” described above because of serious insecurities around “our common hope.” I’m not sure this nation can agree on what that looks like at this point.
that in such times where people are uncertain about how they can attain hope for ther individual selves, they can be troubled little with worry about the hope of others.
I would make a couple of observations:
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p>I believe it was JFK who said every mother wants her son to grow up to be President, but does not want him to become a politician in the process.
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p>Another passage from Jefferson’s inaugural worth remembering is, “We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists. That was such a moment in our history because the incumbent, John Adams, while certainly not happy that Jefferson defeated him and was a bit of a bad sport by skipping town the night before, at least recognized the legitimacy of the election and turned over the reins of power.
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p>Finally, Civics got missed by whomever came up with the MCAS requirements. Since schools seem to focus only on what’s required this has fallen through the cracks.
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p>Many of the districts not showing the President’s speech made that decision based on parental complaints. I hope that you and others who agree will call and counter-complain if they have not already done so.
There was a serious effort to raise the profile of civics education and engagement during the early days of the Patrick administration, but the economy came crashing down on top of it (and others).
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p>The problem now becomes that so many teachers are as cynical as the “rest” of the population and unwilling to take risk when the elected offices themselves become so politically loaded as to become radioactive.
Without an educated, involved, citizenry, democracy itself is at risk.
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p>Where are the model governments I participated in when I was a junior high & high school student?
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p>Governance must be experienced and understood for a “representational democracy” to be other than a sham and an illusion.
is a national treasure. Thanks for this. It’s almost Onion-esque in it’s subtlety.
I seem to recall Adams being called something along the lines of a “fat hermaphrodite” in an editorial in those days!
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p>I don’t mind passion – but I am very wary of massive ignorance.
is of common birth, not better than strumpets!
His legacy has been forever tarnished by the Alien and Sedition Acts.
has always been rough and tumble, but an underlying foundation of respect and honor for institution precluded the sort of thing we see from citizens today. That’s the difference, I think. Politicians have always slung the mud while the voters watched; now the voters sling the mud alongside their political candidates and all bets are off.
I remember when even in a civil conversation, criticism of Richard Nixon was prohibited because (cue Hail To The Chief) “he’s The President”, meaning the office provided an shield of impunity — one which proved most effective, by the way, since this most crooked of presidents never had to face the music.
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p>Now, apparently, there is nothing so vile that it can’t be said about our president by a parent to a child. Gosh, I wonder what the difference is? It couldn’t be a right-left thing, could it? Certainly when we were asked to show respect for the office back then, it wasn’t a cynical, political exercise; and now, regardless the party in power, surely that principle still applies, not least among conservatives, who are so consistent with principles, and not tainted with even a whiff of hypocrisy?
regarding the nation’s perceived responses to Obama’s efforts in virtually every endeavor, I get the sense that the left and right of the nation are actually behaving true to form.
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p>I’ve posted Jonathan Haidt’s TED talk on the moral roots of liberals and conservatives here many times already, but I firmly believe that he is onto something. What we’re seeing in the conservatives is a panic reaction, hence their appearing so out of control and contradictory in their messaging.
this is the first instance in the recent tea bag etc. issues discussed, no matter the political affiliations, we agreed that Obama addressing school children outrage is absurd.
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p>Have Republicans gone too far with the absurdity. It’s one thing to fight policy, it is another thing all together in fighting a president addressing school children to work hard and stay in school.
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p>We’ll see where this goes. My guess not well for Republicans.
of friends, about 1/2 and 1/2 R and D.
The fundamental behavioral differences between the left and the right almost preclude any meaningful correction, in my view. I don’t see it happening. The reaction to the health care reform efforts was the first indication that this nation was no longer collectively thinking carefully either in response to the proposed reforms or in response to the disinformation campaign.
how many little girls and boys do you know that are bigots?
how many 7 year olds know what putting a little square moustache under the nose of a picture of the president is meant to imply?
how many schoolchildren channel resentment towards ‘illegals’ and ‘welfare queens’?
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p>so where did all of the adults like this, learn this?
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p>if we can teach our kids to hate, is parents teaching them to be scorched-earth political partisans really all that shocking?
Changing social mores regarding acceptable behavior as well as an ever-evolving definition of “respect” guaranty that we will go farther down a scorched-earth road than we ever thought possible.
“You’ve got to be carefully taught…”
with the local school superintendent’s office. My daughter won’t get to hear the President. “The district is not participating.” Why? “It’s not part of the curriculum.” Why not? “Individual teachers might show it if it were a Secondary civics class or a social studies class.” (My daughter’s in Primary school.) I’m disappointed. Please tell the Superintendent that. “I will.”
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p>I’m more than disappointed. I’m stunned that this could happen in Massachusetts. Please tell me Bush never had such a broadcast to schoolchildren that was shown here.
I’m an member of a large school committee in Central Mass. I spent the latter part of yesterday afternoon exchanging testy emails with the superintendent in the district about the message we are sending by not showing the address where possible. (We do have some technology issues in some of the schools, but we too, it seemed, caved to parental objections.) This post was written in response to my frustrations over that exchange and has been submitted for publication in our local five-town newspaper on Thursday. He’s not happy with me, as I sent it to him as a heads’ up. I’m a parent first, an educator second, and a school committee member third.
I do hope these Republican cries of “fire” backfire. Geez, Wall Street Journal, of all editorial pages, scolded the conservative critics:
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can be heard through all the hysterical shrieking. When you scrape the surface of all of this you get a little racism, a little hysteria, a little deep-seated fear of the commies, a little xenophobia, a little, well, everything.
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p>America can’t seem to celebrate what’s good about it because it’s not sure what “good” is at this point.
Republican fear of a popular Democratic President. The Republicans are good at getting their scare messages out (based on the above-mentioned racism, hysteria, etc.) and scaring people.
It’s the reason they’re getting all crazy in opposing health-care reform, too. If the Democrats achieve change that tangibly improves life for people, the Republicans will be in a deep hole for having not done that, and for opposing it. They know the reforms are good for people; they are terrified that their opposition will get the credit for enacting them.
…is if they believe what you say they do regarding the move being popular for Democrats, why don’t the Republicans get on the bandwagon? That way they can share the credit and go back to their states and districts and say they voted for the popular measure too.
First, they rely so heavily on insurance and other corporate contributions that it would feel like hand-biting for them to support anything that would decrease profits for those feeders.
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p>Second, they don’t think they would get any credit for helping reform healthcare. They may be right in that. I certainly wouldn’t give them huge props for going along with change after the last 15 years of their obstructionism.
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p>Third, they are afraid of Obama being even mildly successful, after the cosmic failures of his predecessor, the Right’s champion. I doubt that even our short-attention-span electorate is going to soon forget New Orleans, Iraq, and the results of laissez-faire bank regulation.
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p>They are desperately trying to stall progress on every front, hoping that enough failure to change things for the better will tarnish Obama and the Democrats, and give Republicans a chance at getting back some Congressional seats and the Presidency. They can’t (at least the sane ones can’t) possibly believe the fantastic reasons for opposing the health-care bills that they’ve been throwing out. It’s got to be cynical manipulation.
My son told me tonight that he watched it in school today. Must have left an impression with him, because he offered up the info, I didn’t even ask. You know 12 year olds, they don’t remember anything unless it means something to them. It must have meant something to him. Imagine that!
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p>Lightiris, did you have any luck? Did your fight for what’s right have an impact?
try to spin their initial decision into one about technological inadequacy. The district in which I teach (vs. serve on the school committee) did show the speech live where possible and all students watched by the end of school yesterday in those schools that couldn’t stream it. Hugely different responses.