What President Bush is teaching our children

A major point of contention when most in the press and other stalwart individuals (some inelegantly posing as moralists) were slamming ex-President Clinton over his Monica Lewinsky affair and subsequent coverup was what his shameful behavior taught America’s children. His actions were deemed a disgraceful example for impressionable minds.

Well, turnabout is fair play–not that the press or the so-called righteous has noticed.

So just what should our children derive from using President Bush as a role model?
Here’s the George Bush pathway to living an ethical and scrupulous life:

* it’s okay to lie about yourself, your intentions and what you believe in if it’s necessary to achieve your goal. (his campaign pledges to restore integrity, honor and civility to D.C.)

* buying allegiance is but one of a variety of useful tools — (funding “commentators” with taxpayer money)

* eliminating the opinions of others can be a necessity — (banning dissenters from rallies, events and throughout various sectors of government)

* deny or mislead about your actions, if need be — (folks, there isn’t enough bandwidth to cover this particular category)

* make friends with anyone who you think can be helpful, regardless of their past or present behavior — (see Karl Rove’s past, check out Bush’s relationships with the despots in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan, et al)

* simply state that your way is the only way, your decision the ultimate and final one, end of attempting discussion — (listening to others is unimportant, a waste of time and, as Seinfeld’s Elaine would put it, not constitutional-worthy)

* abuse those who may (or may not) be a threat — (render and torture possible suspects)

* keep flashing that credit card/let your grandchildren inherit the financial mess (never propose, let alone pass, a balanced budget despite possessing majorities in Congress)

* utilize scare tactics to enhance personal popularity (note the number of terror alerts issued prior to the 2004 presidential election and the number since)

President Bush as a role model? The blatant hypocrisy is boundless.

Yet where are those same paragons of virtue who so gleefully went after Bill Clinton’s moral failures? Why are they so silent about President Bush’s? Should their repose be seen as approval of Bush’s misdeeds? In their minds, is everything, including morality, open to political persuasion?

But don’t forget to ask yourself this:

* do you want your children and the other children of this country emulating President Bush’s presidential behavior and actions?

5 Comments

James Benjamin on March 1, 2006 at 12:38 am

Another addition to the list:

* All you have to do is assert that you’re competent, that you’re doing the job. There’s no need to produce actual evidence of competence. If any one demands evidence, shout them down.

Nancy LeTourneau on March 1, 2006 at 8:32 am

Given that I work with kids who are considered “bullies” and their victims, I am much more concerned about what Bush is teaching our children than I ever was about Clinton.

The two messages that bother me most are:

The end justifies the means.
Righting percieved wrongs through violence.

But I must admit that our previous so-called governor (you remember – the one with the boa) took the prize. We saw bumper stickers around these parts that said, “My governor can beat up your governor.” So people NEVER grow up.

on March 1, 2006 at 8:51 am

Hey NL,

From my snarky Open Letters to GWB

I tell you, Mr. Bush, it’s been really hard work trying to convince the poor kids I work with that it is OK to succeed. It’s been really hard convincing them to overcome the unease of having to hobnob with the haves despite the fact that all they have going for them is achievement. Academic achievement, even at the elementary school level, has the stigma of wealth attached to it–and if you don’t have the money to run with the winners, you’d best stick to the expectations the rich have for the poor: set your sights on a degree from the community college because Yale is looking for C-students with six-digit trust funds and influential fathers, not for A-students six-digits in debt. And while your administrative policies push ever more C-students to the top of the corporate ladders and the courts, and ever more A-students deeper into debt and despair, it’s getting harder and harder for those of us seeking to educate those kids toward success. They aren’t buying it, Mr. Bush. Now that they’ve followed your lead and begun making jokes about your bad English (“If the President can talk that way, why can’t we?”), our job of teaching them to speak coherently enough to get through a college entrance exam or a job interview, our job of helping them to score well on their SATs has gotten infinitely more difficult. How can any English teacher in this country be taken seriously when the President of the United States jokes about his egregious language skills, Mr. Bush? Bad grammar is not a joke. It’s a problem.

I wonder if you realize that many of the grammar errors you make involve precisely those skills that 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are being tested on in your “No Child Left” Alive initiative. This statement, for example, which you made speaking to a group of Middle School children in Concord, NC, would be enough to get any middle school student a failing grade on an English composition exam: “I think we’re making progress. We understand where the power of this country lay. It lays in the hearts and souls of Americans. It must lay in our pocketbooks. It lays in the willingness for people to work hard. But as importantly, it lays in the fact that we’ve got citizens from all walks of life, all political parties, that are willing to say, I want to love my neighbor. I want to make somebody’s life just a little bit better.” Or, as you said in Townsend, TN in 2001, “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test”–even if the President cannot? If the President’s English doesn’t pass muster, how can we expect teenagers in inner city schools to pass the tests? Should we shut down the executive office and deny federal funding based on your inability to speak proper English? We hope, Mr. Bush, to teach our children not only the rigors of basic third-grade grammar, but also the difference between lying and getting laid in the White House.

Next time I have the opp to teach a kids’ writing class, I’m thinking about taking some of these bad examples and actually using them to have the kids identify the grammatical errors. The President’s English: What not to say….
- Nancy LeTourneau on March 1, 2006 at 9:18 am
  
  Now that’s hilarious and sad all at the same time, Stark!!
  
  Maybe I need to write an open letter to Bush talking about how his attachment to violence affects kids.
  
  I also love the last line about the difference between lying and getting laid in the White House.
  - on March 1, 2006 at 9:23 am
    
    FWIW, I actually SENT those letters to GWB. lol. All 60 pages of em.
    
    You may want to browse around in them, they could use a good careful edit, but looking back, I see there are some funnies….like the line about lying and getting laid in the WH.

James Benjamin on March 1, 2006 at 12:38 am

Another addition to the list:

* All you have to do is assert that you’re competent, that you’re doing the job. There’s no need to produce actual evidence of competence. If any one demands evidence, shout them down.
Nancy LeTourneau on March 1, 2006 at 8:32 am
Given that I work with kids who are considered “bullies” and their victims, I am much more concerned about what Bush is teaching our children than I ever was about Clinton.

The two messages that bother me most are:
1. The end justifies the means.
2. Righting percieved wrongs through violence.
But I must admit that our previous so-called governor (you remember – the one with the boa) took the prize. We saw bumper stickers around these parts that said, “My governor can beat up your governor.” So people NEVER grow up.
- on March 1, 2006 at 8:51 am
  
  Hey NL,
  
  From my snarky Open Letters to GWB
  
  I tell you, Mr. Bush, it’s been really hard work trying to convince the poor kids I work with that it is OK to succeed. It’s been really hard convincing them to overcome the unease of having to hobnob with the haves despite the fact that all they have going for them is achievement. Academic achievement, even at the elementary school level, has the stigma of wealth attached to it–and if you don’t have the money to run with the winners, you’d best stick to the expectations the rich have for the poor: set your sights on a degree from the community college because Yale is looking for C-students with six-digit trust funds and influential fathers, not for A-students six-digits in debt. And while your administrative policies push ever more C-students to the top of the corporate ladders and the courts, and ever more A-students deeper into debt and despair, it’s getting harder and harder for those of us seeking to educate those kids toward success. They aren’t buying it, Mr. Bush. Now that they’ve followed your lead and begun making jokes about your bad English (“If the President can talk that way, why can’t we?”), our job of teaching them to speak coherently enough to get through a college entrance exam or a job interview, our job of helping them to score well on their SATs has gotten infinitely more difficult. How can any English teacher in this country be taken seriously when the President of the United States jokes about his egregious language skills, Mr. Bush? Bad grammar is not a joke. It’s a problem.
  
  I wonder if you realize that many of the grammar errors you make involve precisely those skills that 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are being tested on in your “No Child Left” Alive initiative. This statement, for example, which you made speaking to a group of Middle School children in Concord, NC, would be enough to get any middle school student a failing grade on an English composition exam: “I think we’re making progress. We understand where the power of this country lay. It lays in the hearts and souls of Americans. It must lay in our pocketbooks. It lays in the willingness for people to work hard. But as importantly, it lays in the fact that we’ve got citizens from all walks of life, all political parties, that are willing to say, I want to love my neighbor. I want to make somebody’s life just a little bit better.” Or, as you said in Townsend, TN in 2001, “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test”–even if the President cannot? If the President’s English doesn’t pass muster, how can we expect teenagers in inner city schools to pass the tests? Should we shut down the executive office and deny federal funding based on your inability to speak proper English? We hope, Mr. Bush, to teach our children not only the rigors of basic third-grade grammar, but also the difference between lying and getting laid in the White House.
  
  Next time I have the opp to teach a kids’ writing class, I’m thinking about taking some of these bad examples and actually using them to have the kids identify the grammatical errors. The President’s English: What not to say….
  - Nancy LeTourneau on March 1, 2006 at 9:18 am
    
    Now that’s hilarious and sad all at the same time, Stark!!
    
    Maybe I need to write an open letter to Bush talking about how his attachment to violence affects kids.
    
    I also love the last line about the difference between lying and getting laid in the White House.
    - on March 1, 2006 at 9:23 am
      
      FWIW, I actually SENT those letters to GWB. lol. All 60 pages of em.
      
      You may want to browse around in them, they could use a good careful edit, but looking back, I see there are some funnies….like the line about lying and getting laid in the WH.

What President Bush is teaching our children

About The Author

Cogitator

5 Comments

Recent Posts

Recent Comments