Learning by example

A friend called yesterday wondering why I had not weighed in on the current controversy about President Obama addressing school children next Tuesday. I guess some things seem too absurd to even point out. But here goes.

I'm sure those of you who have pegged me as a conservative are expecting me to prop up the protesters who don't want their children exposed to political propaganda on school time. Actually, I am more conservative than any conservative I know. I love liberty.

Propaganda in the government schools? Are you kidding? Have you ever seen the political agenda of the National Education Association? Do you imagine that the President can say anything more liberal in a single address than the day-to-day diet being delivered by Miss Peach? Can anyone possibly imagine that government schools are politically neutral? I dropped my membership in the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development years ago because I dared to "read the fine print," thereby finding out all the politically liberal causes my dues had been supporting.

And just what political cause are these protesters afraid the President will support in his talk to the children? Socialism? Does socialism refer to a government monopoly over an enterprise that could be conducted better and cheaper, with more consumer input, in the private sector? Then to those parents, I say, don't worry. Children always learn more by example than they can grasp in a short speech. And you have already demonstrated your commitment to socialism by sending your children to government schools.