Basically, stay in school, blah blah blah...

This evening after dinner, while Torrin was washing dishes, he mentioned something about President Obama's speech.

This after I'd spent a collection of various moments the past few days infuriated by the partisan venom spewing about. I'd expressed subdued versions of my opinion on the matter on various websites, and yet I'd gone through nearly the whole day without having actually heard the speech, seen it in print, or talked to someone who had.

And there before me, was my own progeny, and intended audience of The Speech. So, I asked him what he thought about it. Torrin said something like "basically, stay in school, blah blah blah, just like what other normal people say when they talk to kids at school."

Wow...so earth-shattering. What's the uproar? Oh, right, the lesson plan. How to Help the President. You mean it wasn't "why Americans should be Socialists?" No? We should...stay in school? Who's paying for that? Oh...um...taxpayer funded public schools... Oh, wait. Other normal people talk to kids in schools too? Isn't that taking up instructional time? What? Well then what about, say, a pep rally? Another instructional time drainer all in favor of promoting unity...um...hmmm. I don't want my kid learning the school song, or even knowing what the school mascot is! No way! What we really need to do is force teachers to register their party affiliations and let us choose our children's instructors based on political ideologies.

Upon further probing, Torrin reported that Obama said "all across America, like, 50 times." "Stay in school." "Don't do drugs." Boy, if that's the message my 8-year-old kid heard, it couldn't have been that bad.

Right?