My two cents...or maybe more

My two cents:

What a sad day it is in America when the President is no longer respected and trusted to give a speech to our youth. How sad that some children weren't allowed to hear President Obama's speech, some didn't get the chance to be inspired by his words, encouraged by his story, his past. Shame on those naysayers. Shame, shame, shame.

I watched the speech this morning and I still don't see the problem with it. He encouraged kids to stay in school, try hard in their classes, reminded them that they won't be great at everything and that is okay, not every subject will be their best, not every teacher their favorite. And despite hardship at home, despite obstacles they must overcome, these aren't excuses to not try in school, to start fights, or argue with teachers. He told them that they will never know where their talents lie if they don't write that English paper or do that science experiment.

And his words were so true. I never would have known that I enjoyed English and grammar if I hadn't done my homework, written hundreds of papers, and worked with my teachers. I never would have known that science really isn't my thing, but math is a challenge I love to tackle if I hadn't taken those dreaded Chemistry labs or worked my way through Finite Math.

I wonder if the naysayers were disappointed that he didn't try to convert our youth to socialism or encourage our children to grow up to be left-wing liberals. Maybe next time.

A viewer of the speech in another country sent an email into the news. This person said that the people of their country respect and trust their Prime Minister and even if they don't agree with his politics, they would trust him to speak to their youth.

My sentiments exactly. I thought President Bush was wrong most of the time, not all of the time, but most of the time, and I still would not have denied my kids the right to hear him speak. A President's speech is an historical event. I wouldn't deny my children a piece of history. No one should.

That might have been more like my ten cents.

Peace out!