Friday, September 4, 2009

If I Only Had A Brain...

If I only had a brain...

Oh my goodness. All this talk about the Obama speech being aired at school or not is wearing me out. Here's my take on it.

His speech is supposed to be about staying in school and the importance of education. Who can argue with that? I would not be opposed to my children watching such a speech, even it it was made by a President whom I did not vote for. I also believe parents have the right to not allow their children to watch the speech at school. I did not vote for Obama and I do not agree with some of his ideas. However, he IS our president and I have taught my children to respect him, even if they don't agree with him. I have done a well enough job as a parent teaching my children that they have brains of their own and are able to be exposed to many different points of view and come to their own conclusions. I don't dictate my children's opinions/political views. People (kids) need to be exposed to different views, otherwise it's like parents are trying to shield their kids from the real world, which includes MANY different opinions/views.

(What I would be opposed to is if the speech had a political agenda. That would be highly inappropriate to show at school.)


I didn't even know I had a brain of my own, or my own opinions or beliefs until I was well into my adulthood...Way too far into my adulthood. I am proud that I am teaching my children that they are individuals with their own opinions. It's my job to lead them in the right direction, which is the direction I believe to be right. If/when they ever choose to not have the same opinions as me, because I know it will happen with some issues, I will love them anyway. And I will tell them I disagree, but I will not shame them for it.

I also raise my children to not generalize when it comes to political parties. No ONE political party screwed this country up. No ONE person is to blame for the economical mess this country is in. And for anyone to point fingers at an entire political party is ridiculous. There are buffoons on all sides. We've all seen prominent figures from both parties behave disgustingly.

I teach my children to take the information given, investigate it for themselves, and then draw their own conclusions. They are not obligated to my opinions or anyone else's opinions.

I am raising my children in a home where Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he died on the cross and rose again to save us from our sins. As long as they stick to that, they will be fine.

(OK, after re-re-reading this I acknowledge that I have repeated myself on some points. I'm too tired to care and fix it.)

1 comment:

hellbent on life said...

hear hear.lovely words. I fully believe in teaching a child to think for themselves and to better, and compassionate people