The United States has always prided itself in the fact that we select citizens to lead for limited periods with limited powers. The President does not solely exercise the power of the United States, but exercises that power with two other branches. The training of students to chant or sing his praises seems out of place in our system and threatens to mix politics with education — particularly for children so young. I doubt many liberal families would be delighted to hear their children singing about George Bush in the same way.
The same controversy arose when a middle school teacher in Missouri arranged the video below. She was later suspended:
There is a considerable difference between the two tapes.
The lyrics and chant are certainly less militant:
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said all should lend a hand to make the country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today, equal work means equal pay.
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said take a stand, make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama
Yeah! Barack Hussein Obama
…Hello Mr. President, We honor you today
For all your great accomplishments, we all do say hooray
Hooray, Mr. President you are No. 1
The first black American to lead this nation
This is not exactly a North Korean “Dear Leader” chant and certainly people like Michele Malkin appear to have taken this to an extreme of claiming indoctrination and fanaticism. However, I must confess that I feel uncomfortable with public school kids learning songs and chants for individual sitting presidents. It tends to reaffirm a type of cult of personality that we have seen with some prior presidents like George W. Bush and now Obama. I am also not comfortable with public school kids being taught to sing that a president is “No. 1” given the opposition of some parents to his election or his policies.
This is why I love Constitution Day. It celebrates what really makes our nation strong: not our all-powerful or all-loving leaders but a document that allows citizens to protect themselves from tyranny. I find that these type of songs send the wrong message.
What do you think?