At 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, not only do I plan on showing my own students President Obama’s address to all the nation’s schoolchildren, but I intend to use the brouhaha over it as a teachable moment, of how precious freedom of speech is even if it means allowing hateful people to say things that are not true.

What insanity has taken over parts of this country when a presidential address to young people is perceived to be mistrusted as if an alien dictator has taken over that will brainwash their minds? Former President George W. Bush gave an anti-drug speech to the nation’s children and few screamed about indoctrination.

Some parents intend to keep their children home that day so that they don’t see the message.  My gosh, folks, this is the President of the United States we’re talking about.

How far this country has lost its way when the President cannot make a simple “do well in school” speech to America’s youth without controversy.

Paranoia is the key word involved with the vile antagonism expressed by some parents who wish their children not to hear the President of the United States speak to them about their future. 

I was amazed when my son brought home a note from his first grade teacher offering parents to opt out of hearing the message.  The problem with such a notification is that it creates the sense that what the President has to say is somehow controversial so parents who probably would not have said a peep about the whole thing might now decide to have their children not be present, even though the entire text of the President’s speech is available on line on Monday at whitehouse.gov.

At the high school where I work, the principal sent a carefully worded e-mail regarding the speech, leaving the matter in the hands of individual teachers (as it should be) whether or not to show it in the classroom.

What a shame that such an exciting moment for young people, the President speaking directly to them about their education, has been twisted by ignorant parents and ratings-addicted media pundits into a scary, heinous message that serves to indoctrinate our children.  But isn’t having young people stand up, put their hands over their heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance a form of indoctrination?  Many of these same parents desire religion to be taught in public schools, but that would not be indoctrination, would it?

What is wrong with people today?  Don’t we want a president who cares about health care and education?  Since when does everything the president does or says has to pass through some kind of “Democrat Liberal” filter?  Wasn’t the election over with 10 months ago?

Why any good American would desire a president to fail is beyond reason.  There’s only one explanation why some people so vehemently oppose the president:  because he’s black.  How frightful that this country has so many parents who still cannot accept that an African-American is the president of all of us. 

This isn’t the country I grew up in where people viewed the President of the United States as the president of us all whether you voted for him or not. 

We are living in dangerous, uncharted times when a presidential address to young people about the importance of education is perceived to be indoctrination.  I dread what may happen next.