The White House has tried to allay parents’ fears that a speech US President Barack Obama will deliver at a Virginia school this week is an attempt to ply American children with liberal propaganda.
Conservatives have been up in arms since the White House announced last month that Mr Obama would give a back-to-school speech on Tuesday, when many students have their first day of classes for the new academic year.
The White House hopes the speech will be watched live by students and teachers across the nation but the President’s critics say it is an attempt to indoctrinate rather than motivate the country’s youth.
“The president’s whole message is about personal responsibility and challenging students to take their education very, very seriously,” said education secretary Arne Duncan, who explained that Mr Obama simply wanted to encourage the country’s youth to do their best.
image via Toonpool (Thanks Colin)
And yet the Republicans would have no problem whatsoever if it was President John McCain giving a back-to-school speech.
This is a story from over a week ago! The speech went ahead on 8 September, and as a result, most of Obama’s critics backed off their original protests. Jim Greer, the Republican party chairman in Florida, who had accused Obama of trying to spread “socialist ideology”, having seen the speech, said: “It’s a good speech. It encourages kids to stay in school and the importance of education.”
Newt Gingrich also praised it, saying Obama was following a well established precedent. “President Reagan did it, President [George] HW Bush did it … It’s a good speech, I recommend it to everybody if you have any doubts.”
Some schools still didn’t show the speech, because “parents were divided on the issue.” But then as we’ve always known, there’s no intelligence test required to become a parent.
Just what is wrong with the US?? The place is seriously full of right wing wackos I thought they’d exonerated themselves after voting in Obama, now they are nailing him to a cross. How deluded are the (seemingly) majority of Repubicans.
“PRESIDENT TALKS TO CHILDREN SHOCKER!”
You’ve got to love the Americans
tut tut
WOW next he will be speaking to the nation then where will we be
He’s told children that education is important? That’s disgusting. Next thing you know, he’ll be trying to convince them to eat healthily and exercise.
I always knew there was something sick and sadistic about barack. Now we know for sure.
Securing his votes for the future .. He transfers his thoughts into the kids’brain … Now, where did we hear more about that way of working theirselves in someone’s system ? Someone evil …
This could be a threat to republicans and middle America. Students might not believe in the creation myth if they think for themselves and they might seek evidence through scientific endeavour for their beliefs. Republicans have proven that you don’t need a brain to be president just get your directions from god. This is very dangerous, they are defenceless against intelligence.
It is not in the interests of Republicans to have free thinking and intelligent school kids as all they want them to do is hold a gun and kill the enemy (whoever they chose is the enemy) on command.
No Brain is required to do that and in fact it gets in the way.
Hahahahah only in America could they think that their president is trying to brain wash them!
What, you think it’s crazy to think that American’s president is trying to brainwash them? It’s been done for years. Do a little research, the majourity of people don’t even know how their country is ran.
All their little American mind now belong to him.
‘an attempt to indoctrinate rather than motivate the country’s youth’, well no change there then.
But, my, the powers-that-be haven’t really given Obama that much time before beginning ‘Operation Tarnish’. Maybe he’s not playing ball with them now that he’s in. Maybe he isn’t actually in the pockets of the Feds after all? Yeh, right. A little misdirection in the form of some disgruntled voices from the back of the room should convince the world he’s not being steered like the Argo through the Symplegades. Just shut your eyes Obama and enjoy the ride to Haides when Helios sets. You have sold your soul.
Oh, I’ve come over all mythological…
Conspiracy theorist, moi?
This isn’t brainwashing really, although I don’t like what I heard regarding treatment towards parents who didn’t want their kids to see the speech, it should be free choice but there’s a lot of peer pressure and “left vs right” rubbish involved. If you don’t want your kid to see the speech, you’re somehow right-wing redneck whacko? Please…
If anything, the brainwashing was during his campaign, but that is to be expected- no leader get’s into power by telling the truth.
I’m in Minnesota and my daughters school didn’t show the speech. I was told that they intended to, but it was because the amount of angry and threatening parent phone calls before the speech aired was enough for them to leave it to kids to view it elsewhere. Personally, I think that it’s perfectly fine for the president to address the kids. If he were to have said something that the parents didn’t like then perhaps they could have a conversation with their kids when they got home from school. Heaven forbid parents take responsibility though. Or more so that they take responsibility in a form that doesn’t keep kids ignorant. My opinion.
I finally get to see the blog! Oh I’m SO happy. This is such a relief
Bit off topic but ooooo at the little pic of Derren with a newspaper! What does it all mean?
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Obama is actually Derren undercover and he’s been brainwashing everybody ever since he appeared on TV. Don’t yous know that?
I must be missing something here. An elected president wants to speak to the young people, of the country he’s been elected to be the head of, and that’s a problem? I may be being dense and missing a vital point but I can’t see anything wrong with this. Rather have him giving children encouragement than G.W. Bush reading them a story about a goat.
x
Stop with the blog posts (joking make more – write about the control lever
) and roll on the Casino! I wonder what’s up your sleeves 
I have no problem with the president doing a back to school speech for the kids, in fact it sounds great! What i do have a problem with is him convincing me to vote for him so he can make things better and so far he isn’t doing any of those promises. SO I have come to the UK
) Ok so i didnt come because of him, but still wish he’d stop misleading people – but then again he IS a politician and thats what they all do ;o)
Julie – I guess the conservatives are complaining because Obama isn’t going to tell the kids to forget their studies and concentrate on being a good, Bible-loving Christian. Obama is quite big on science education, which appears to be a BIG problem for the conservative christians in America. They’ve enjoyed the last eight years of scientific ignorance under George Bush and are worried that Obama might have some of these kids actually LEARN something – something which may possibly shake their faith in God…
I think its about time this evil tyrant went down
this is beyond the stupidity of PC, but if thats what america has done then thats what will happen in the UK soon :s the world has gone truly mad
No one has mentioned the words “Manchurian Candidate” yet!
Now if there was a hypnotist somewhere who had a habit of trying to fool people on a national scale, perhaps there would be a good reason to be worried
I always knew he wasn’t to be trusted.
I do a LOT of work with the anti-fascist movement and I can tell you this ridiculous conspiracy theory about the ‘elitist liberal media’ etc is all complete hogwash, and is spouted like gispel by racists and far right wingers the world over. These people genuinely believe some Ickean prophecy will befall us all if we do not reclaim the world from the blacks/Musilms/Jews/elite/liberal etc etc etc. It’s vaguely hysterical. Derren, can you trick all these noddies into some form of common sense?
@Gareth- thought so. Crazy. I’m biased because I really like the man but then maybe I’ve been brainwashed too.
x
Oh, Derren Brown Blog, you have NO IDEA how crazy things are here. I went to a tea party protest thing at the TX state capitol a few weeks ago and got told that global warming, evolution, and 9/11 were not real while cancer patients in the US could always get adequate treatment if they go to the emergency room. (I work for a cancer org, so I can promise you this is a HUGE LIE.) It’s a bit frightning.
Ummm…help?
I got into huge trouble at Washington airport when I commented on how they were treating those in the non-white queue beside us. They got the guns out and did their best to humiliate me in front of the crowds, yelling at me to keep talking and explain myself whilst they were laughing and talking to each other and ignoring me. I gave as good as I got for a while, but it was pretty obvious this was going to lead to bad things and I would put the others I was with on a job in jeopardy, so I cried so that the little man thought he had won. I was sick to my stomach and every American around apologised for the disgusting state their country was in. It was a real eye-opener for me and the start of a lot of research. Things will happen sooner than we think. They already have. The banks swindled us
And the problem is….? i think its a good thing for Obama to make this speech. mind you, i may change my mind once ive heard what he has to say! but honestly, i do not see what they are getting so worked up about. if anyone wants to explain this to me id be very grateful, i feel like im missing some major point somewhere! am i?!
these are them, the screamers. 9.12.09 “Tea Party” march on DC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y
DC police estimated the crowd at 60k, while organizers were quoted in interviews hailing crowds of 1mil+
there has been some demystification of the element like on MSNBC’s Hardball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_09xPF_9UjM
Obama only carried 53% of the popular vote in 2008. practically a coin toss.
‘And the problem is….?’ @Hels, I don’t think we have any idea of the level of religious fervour, racism, money=power that goes on over there. Hopefully we can dam up the tidal wave and stabilise thngs here, but I doubt it.
If you are interested in brain washing techniques then it maybe a good idea to read this – http://tinyurl.com/8nt9w – it was a speech given by Dick Sutphen about how people can be persuaded by words/tones etc.
It is very interesting due to the fact he wrote this speech in 1984.
Maybe Derren has read it and would like to comment.
E