I Like His Early Stuff
Hey Again America,
Once I finished writing my last post, I remembered something. I’ve never posted the letters to the editor i’ve had published for you guys to read! So, without further ado, here they are.
Regarding Obama’s Speech to Students, Published 9/10/09
President’s pep talk offers needed lesson
I am 15 years old and a proud citizen of the United States of America. Tuesday was a very important day in the Obama administration for education. At noon, President Barack Obama gave a live address to the students across America. His speech was meant for the students. In fact it was almost like a pep talk for students.
Obama encouraged kids to stay in school and pursue higher education, while at the same time reminding them it’s not only the responsibility of their teachers to help their success but it’s their own. One of the key parts of the speech read “at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.”
Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.”
Now that sounds like a great message, right? Well according to some people, it wasn’t. Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer viewed the speech as “Obama’s attempt to indoctrinate students.”
This obviously caught on with some people so in recent days and a lot of parents have been protesting the showing of the speech for the same reason.
In my opinion, there was absolutely no politics in this speech. In fact, this speech was the subject of discussion in my English class where it was read aloud to our class by our teacher so we could judge for ourselves if the speech was partisan or not.
As soon as our teacher had finished reading the speech, the very first comment from a student was: “What’s wrong with that?” To answer that question, nothing was wrong with it. At all.
So my question today is: “Isn’t it a shame, when students miss out on the pep talk of a lifetime due to partisan bickering by the parents?” Yes it is. And in the words of Barack Obama himself, “It should never be controversial to ask our students to stay in school.”
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Regarding the Special Election for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat.
Alan Khazei Should Be Senator
The 2008 Presidential Election was without a doubt, a historical one. As a country we overcame generations of cynicism and prejudice, and showed what happens when different groups of people work tirelessly for one goal. It was a great moment in history. During the campaign, then Senator Obama, managed to inspire scores of people to be involved in the political process. Be it, sophomores in High School like me getting involved for the first time, or people who have seen their fair share of elections holding signs on a Saturday afternoon, “Something was happening in America”. I believe that the ability to inspire is among the greatest traits that can be had by a leader, and that in order to lead, you must be able to inspire people to follow. Which is why I believe Alan Khazei is the right man for the job in the upcoming Special Election for Ted Kennedy’s senate seat.
As Co-Founder of City Year, Alan Khazei helped inspire over 1,400 teens and young adults to serve their communities through ten months of full-time community service. Whether its tutoring school children or organizing after school programs, the volunteers at City Year have definitely made a difference. Khazei’s work in community service doesent end there though. As founder and CEO of Be the Change Inc, Khazei continues to inspire countless people to be involved in their community through service by “assuming the highest office, that of a citizen.”.
So although he may not be a household name, Alan Khazei’s work proves he is not only capable of leading, but shows hes capable of inspiring citizens to serve their country and get involved in ways most people would have never considered. And in a world where most High School student’s idea of a role model is a celebrity or an athlete, I think its time we got some role models in Washington.
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That’s all I have published at the moment, but hopefully there is more to come!
The speech focused on bringing America back to God, and the values it had at the inception of the country. At face value, this seems like a good idea, and I agree with God being of huge importance in all of our daily lives (being a Christian) however, Beck seems to believe that the only way our country can become what it once was (i’m not sure what time period he’s aiming for here as frankly, aside from the economy the country is in pretty good shape and even the economy is looking up) is if all of the people turn to God as the founding fathers did. Problem: There are people of more than just the Christian religion in this country. Now don’t get me wrong, i’m a Christian. I have been, and I always will be, but I don’t believe it’s fair to insinuate the only way we can return to prosperity (still not sure when we left) as a country is by following one faith as the founding fathers did. I find it to be even more disrespectful by making this speech on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which encouraged Americans to look past race, religion, and other factors and to judge people on their character. Overall, the rally could have been much worse, but I feel as if the fact he made a slightly dividing speech on such a historic day is disrespectful to King’s memory and his legacy.
All of this will take place on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech (which took place at the Lincoln Memorial). By now you’re probably thinking “What in the world are bigots (Yeah, I just called them bigots, no i’m not taking it back) like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck doing giving a speech on such a historic day, at the very same place it happened?” and frankly, I have no idea. The rally is set to be a “Restore America” theme, and claims to be non-political but the fact of the matter is, it’s a rally with Sarah Palin, and Glenn Beck, while the Tea Party is in town. Do they really think people are going to buy that? I’ll put money on it that the speeches contain plenty of Obama Bashing (or “Status Quo” Bashing as they’ll try and be sneaky about it) and lots of your average Tea Party rhetoric about 2nd Amendment Rights, The Constitution (the same one who’s first amendment they have no problem throwing away when it comes to people who aren’t Christian), or in other words it’ll be “FOX NEWS: LIVE IN CONCERT”. It’s really a shame they plan to make a mockery of such a historic day with their stupidity. Sorry for the rant, but this kinda idiocy just irritates me. Until next time America.
). I got to talk to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor again which is always cool, and both of them gave great speeches. The Governor’s focused on generational responsibility, and how supporters needed to show their support and be sure to remind everyone of the accomplishments of the Patrick/Murray Administration (there are TONS of them). The LG’s speech was similar to the one he gave at the organizer meeting last Sunday, and focused on how the campaign was bridging old school methods like filling out pledge cards with newer methods like online recruiting tools.
. Hopefully i’ll be able to get one to the Governor on Sunday and get some VIP readers eh?
