09.03
This morning I was very shocked and surprised to see this story from KSL. Aparently we can’t show a speech by the President in the United States without contraversy.
I wrote the following to Chris Sorensen, the district superintendent. I look forward to a frank response.
I just spoke with Lana about the district’s decision not to show President Obama’s speech. She explained that the speech would not be shown because the district was unable to provide alternative activities and notification to the parents in time for the speech on Tuesday.
I find it very strange that we need to have alternative activities for a Presidential speech. It is not like this is an issue with moral implications. The simple fact that our community does not support the president politically is not a justification for such controversy. When I was attending Payson High School Chris Cannon spoke to students. No alternative activities were required during this speech.
I would like to know what the criterion are for an event requiring the district to provide alternative activities. Lana mentioned that permission is required for the maturation program (which I believe makes sense) but a Presidential speech will not have anything to do with sex.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.
Paul Dayton
Paul-
Good letter and good points. I think you went a little easy on him, but that might be because he wasn’t the final decision maker on the issue. Still, I think it’s ridiculous that they should even think about offering “alternative activities,” let alone not showing the speech because they couldn’t organize any in time.
Whether you like his policies or not, shouldn’t you listen when the president speaks? Is he not the leader of our country? And shouldn’t we be encouraging our kids to participate in the political process rather than encouraging them to turn their backs on it?
I find it hard to imagine someone trying to justify that position. The president is the man we look to to lead our country. The notion that we need to protect our children for him is not only ridiculous—it’s based in pettiness and personal political insecurity. If parents disagree with any of his comments to the students, that becomes the perfect opportunity for discussion and learning.
Unfortunately for all of us, it looks like they’ll learn closed-mindedness instead.
Isn’t it funny that the same people who called Democrats unpatriotic for not supporting the war are also the ones hoping that our President fails? They are just still so mad that a black man is in charge.
I wish these Republicans would just go back to Cabela’s and shut the fuck up.
That is funny, although bit surprising.
On the other hand- attributing a political disagreement to racism isn’t just lame- it’s weak, simplistic, and largely inaccurate.
I meant not a bit surprising.
Have you ever seen this kind of hatred for a president? How many death threats have there been now?
Oh, and be nice. I’m Paul’s wife.
Of course they won’t admit they are racist. They’ll just say he was born in Africa and he’s a Muslim. I don’t recall them asking for Bush’s birth certificate.
No one asked for Bush’s birth certificate because we all know he was born in America. Obama, on the other hand, was born in Nigeria. This man as our president cannot stand!
*sarcasm
Seriously, I’d have to say I saw this kind of hatred (if not more) for Bush in his final years.
It’s really too bad political debate is so polarized. I wonder if it was always this way and if it’s always going to be this way.
All presidents receive death threats. I’ve heard that Pres. Obama has had more, but have never seen any numbers on it. I wouldn’t be surprised because I don’t deny the fact that there are still racists. I just don’t think that the majority of people who oppose Obama policies are merely in opposition to the color of his skin. I think America as a whole is a lot better than that. And I doubt any of those threats have come from the Nebo school district.
On the other hand, I was surprised to see that the issue has been brought up in several other states. I’m glad I had great parents growing up—I’d be embarrassed if any of these people were in my family.
I think the hatred for George W. Bush came primarily from the unpopularity of his policies. This unpopularity was not evident until about 6 months into his second term.
I do look forward to many discussions about the legacy of George W. Bush in 10 or 20 years. It will be very interesting to see how it worked out in the context of a bit more history.