When my wife told me that the school was actually providing a waiver form for parents to refuse to have their children listen to the President of the United States at school, I wasn’t sure how to describe my response. At least, I told myself, it was to be an “opt-out” form. Things hadn’t become so unreasonable that I would have to “opt in” to have my children hear the speech.
I was further chagrined to learn that people I know, admire, and love had somehow fallen prey to the rhetoric. It’s as if otherwise reasonable people, passionately working to ensure that the people maintain our constitution-granted free voice, have surrendered their free voice to the angry right wing fringes.
As I continued listening to the rhetoric, it then became clear that the counter-arguments from the self-important far left were just as unreasonable and simple-minded as those from the far right, and that many otherwise reasonable left-leaning citizens had also surrendered their free voice to the fringes of their party.
Where is reason and respect to be found? Where are our statesmen? Why are not my local Republican leaders rising up in outrage that, in the name of their party, people are boycotting a speech by our President? Where is the reasonable (wo)man among our citizenry, that mythical but critical character upon which our democracy and economy depend so completely?
I don’t know what the President’s speech will contain on Tuesday. As a right-leaning independent – a “centrist” as I’m wont to call myself – it is probable that I will disagree with parts and agree with parts of the speech. It is also possible that I even find some strong emotions and opinions to some parts of the speech. Regardless, my children and I will review the speech together, discuss the issues, advice, and counsel. We’ll compare the President’s ideas with our own. Whatever the outcome, for better or worse, we’ll have a greater understanding of the mind of our President.
That is a freedom that I cherish. That is the might of our nation. That is a right for which so many have risked and still risk life and limb to defend, and which so many in the world clamor to attain.
And opinions of otherwise reasonable people notwithstanding, I wouldn’t trade or surrender that voice or that right for anything in the world. And that’s what I’ll teach my children on Tuesday.
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