Obama's Speech

Thanks, KVPI.

That's all I can say at the moment.

What did they do? They took advantage of a slow news Labor Day to print, in full it appears, the text of the speech President Obama plans to deliver to school children (mine included, thanks to an open-minded school district) tomorrow.

The text is here. Please go read it. You'll see the radical ideas Obama is spreading to our young, impressionable children:

Teachers, inspire and push your students.

Parents, keep your kids on track. Make sure they do their homework and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or Xbox.

Students, show up. Do your work. Figure out what you want to do with your life. Then set goals to do it.

Government, set high standards and support teachers and principals.

I know, it sounds like Communism all over the place. Especially this excerpt:

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust - a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor - and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you - don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.

It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So, not exactly the Apocalypse, is it?