Send In The Clowns
President Obama announced last week his intent to broadcast live on the White House Web site and C-SPAN a speech he will make to students at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday, September 8th.
Beginning Tuesday, September 1st, the Republican Party of Florida and many individual loud-mouths and radio demagogues responded. Representative of all complaints, the Florida Republican Party chair claimed that:
“[Obama's intention is to] indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda.”
That brought to mind a Steven Sondheim song made popular by Judy Collins in 1975…
Well, what are the major points of the Republicans? Jim Greer, chair of the Florida Republican Party, issued a statement complaining that:
“As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology…”
Apparently, the notion that students should stay in school to learn and earn their diplomas before going out into the working world is socialist. I guess, then, that my parents were confirmed Socialists, for they certainly kept me in school. Well, as if that isn’t enough, Mr. Greer added:
“The idea that schoolchildren across our nation will be forced to watch the president justify his plans for government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs, and racking up more debt than any other president…
“The Democrats have clearly lost the battle to maintain control of the message this summer, so now that school is back in session, President Obama has turned to American’s children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American’s youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves…”
Mr. Greer must also be an existentialist as well as a Republican. It certainly calls for a leap of faith to posit that a speech that will urge students to work hard and finish school will, in reality, be a justification for “government-run health care, banks, and automobile companies” as well as advocate increased taxes and national debt.
You want more clowns? No problem there. A dozen or more parents called the Henrico County School Board or Administrator here in the great Commonwealth of Virginia and complained that their children would be forced to watch the President’s speech. This happened in most other counties, too, and several have responded by not airing the speech. It must be clear to all that 10 or 17 years of upbringing by parents will be completely undone by a 20-minute speech by the President.
(Remember, this is the incumbent President of the United States, who was elected by a large majority of US voters in November, 2008.)
Over 500 have posted comments to the various stories published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch online. Many of these comments support the notion that students can safely watch a short address by their President. Others flail on about indoctrination, socialism, and the “socialist Democratic” party. When so many pointed out the non-political nature of the President’s speech, those who objected latched onto the study materials authored and distributed by the Deparment of Education as evidence of indoctrination, socialism, and so forth.
The Socialist Party in the United States, unable to gain traction among the electorate, have renamed themselves the Social Democrats USA. There’s also the Democratic Socialists of America party. There are, in fact, many splinter parties who claim the title of socialist. In Europe, the Social Democrat parties on the continent successfully resisted the Communist parties throughout the Cold War. Next thing you know, there’ll be a US branch of the Christian Democrats, too!
What was that Sondheim song from the 1970s? It’s “Send in the Clowns:”
Don’t you love farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you’d want what I want…
Sorry, my dear!
Where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.
Don’t bother; they’re here
It’s true; we’re surrounded by clowns…