Quitting On Your Country

This evening, I attempted to watch Obama’s address to Congress, which (on my Tivo) CBS had inappropriately labeled “State of the Union”. After nearly fainting at the dreadful commentary by the CBS reporters (I don’t watch much news), I quickly fast-forwarded to the President’s speech.

As I watched Obama, I could perceive none of the eloquence, intelligence, or charisma that so many attribute to him, and I quickly lost interest. I wanted it to be there, but it wasn’t. His words seemed tired and clichéd.

Still, I left the President’s speech on as I went about wasting time on the internet. After failing in my attempts to pay attention, I was suddenly shocked out of my late night relaxation by the President’s words. This is what I heard:

Dropping out of highschool is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country.

I rewound my Tivo  and played it again. In disbelief, I rewound it further and again sat dumbfounded. More context only deepened my pain:

It is our responsibility as lawmakers – and as educators – to make the system work, but is the responsibility of every citizen to participate in it. So tonight I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training.

This can be a community college or a four year school. Vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma. And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country – and this country needs and values the talents of every American.

I listened to it again and again with more and more context.  Sometimes trying to cut Obama some slack, sometimes trying to reason my way out of it – dismissing it as hyperbole, sometimes in horror, or worse. But every time, Congress erupted in applause, and every time, my heart sank to new depths. He goes on a bit to ramble about parenting and how parents need to be responsible for the education of their children – but all I heard was that the best a parent could do would be to funnel their children through new government programs to receive a proper “education”.

Every American will need to get more than a highschool diploma – did he just say that? Dropping out of highschool isn’t an option? It is the responsibility of citizens to participate in the system? Dropping out of highschool is quitting on your country? What the hell is going on around here…

Needless to say, I haven’t been able to listen to the rest of the speech. I am still processing his outrageous words. Whether he wrote them – I don’t know. It doesn’t seem to matter.

Obama has inadvertantly drawn a battle line where none needed to be drawn. He clearly believes what he is saying is a positive message of hope – but he comes off as insane to me. He has no comprehension of the country and how a certain percentage of it will receive his message. While he is trying to instill hope with platitudes and vague legislation to improve education… he seems more likely to start a civil war than to improve test scores.

If I were in highschool, I would drop out on principle. If I had children in a school that accepted any federal dollars, I would pull them out. If someone tells me I need a college degree, I will shout, “NON SERVIAM”, and tell them that it’s too bad their college didn’t educate them, or they might know what I just said.

But these things are unnecessary. Surely it’s just a misunderstanding. He probably meant isn’t an option in a way that means, it is an option, but we just want to help you, right? Maybe. When Obama talks about parenting, surely he mitigates any idea that the federal government actually compels children to do something against the will of their parents? Maybe.

But why must I contort my intellect just so that I can try to make a foolish President seem sane? And let us still hope that he is! Every day it gets more difficult to take a “wait and see” approach to Obama, but it is only February, and not yet time for the final verdict. Perhaps… perhaps he is just a misguided blundering leftist of a president who constantly says stupid things – this is our hope!  Those condemned to thinking more logically, have long given up:

Obama is a radical communist, and I think it is becoming clear. That is what I told people in Illinois and now everybody realizes it’s true. He is going to destroy this country, and we are either going to stop him or the United States of America is going to cease to exist.

WorldNetDaily Article Ambassador Keyes’ Rant on YouTube

Let us hope in the impossible: that Alan Keyes is wrong, and that President Obama is full of good intentions.