This had me dying laughing.

On September 8th, 2009, I watched President Obama give his speech. Some kids got a note from their parents and got to do fun stuff instead. I was very jealous. I listened to him talk about school and how it was the first day of school (although it wasn’t) and other boring stuff for FIFTEEN MINUTES! To a kid that’s a looong time in school.

The rest of the account is worth reading, as it is pretty amusing. For the record, I personally think the whole thing was pretty fucking dopey, especially in light of my last post. Also, I’m pretty annoyed by the idea that completing a high school education, no matter how worthless and unchallenging it may be, is some sort of marker of your human worthiness. Seriously? If we lose our marbles enough to not homeschool, then our kids will always know that dropping out of high school is an option. The way I see it, if they have legitimate reasons for not wanting to stay there – i.e., severe bullying, not being challenged, they find a talent that doesn’t require a full high school education, they get accepted to an art or drama program, or for a million other legit reasons – then they don’t have to stay.

I mean, hell, I dropped out instead of repeating senior year and I got into the same state university that also accepted many who did well in high school. Dropping out of high school isn’t necessarily a death sentence. It also bothers me a bit that many drop-outs didn’t have a choice in the matter, yet Obama reframed it into some patriotic nonsense. Because I’m totally sure that when you’re 16 and putting food on your table is more important than finishing up with a worthless diploma, it feels really good to suddenly have “unpatriotic” hanging over your head. It certainly makes a lot more sense to risk getting fined two weeks’ worth of wages or losing your job because you get caught cutting school rather than just dropping out. The great irony, of course, is that these are the same kids most at risk for having their patriotism challenged by military recruiters just a few years later. I’m guessing that even the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t view military enlistment as synonymous with levels of patriotism.

But what do I know, right? It’s not as if classism is apparent with many Democrats, even when they proclaim to know what’s always best for poor people. We’re a minority that is easy to judge, because our condition must have occurred due to laziness or some other moral failing. It couldn’t be because of a crappy economy, some shitty luck, or other bad life circumstances.

It’s one of the many things that bothers me about the socialized health care debate. I don’t need to know how things work in other countries; I know how horribly incompetent and ineffective other state and federal run agencies are. Just take a look at the post office, the PA Liquor Control Board/state stores, or the DMV. (Seriously, do I need a link to the DMV?) All three of the agencies are enough to make my fuckin’ head explode for various reasons, and I really don’t want my health care in the hands of the same idiots.

Yet Democrats expect me to be happy with the same courteous, competent, and quick service I receive with these agencies. And if I don’t support it, then I hate poor people and love insurance companies. Because, hell, if I don’t want a public option, then I must sweat the same insurance companies that have forced me into six month long fights over bills that weren’t mine or payments Aetna was supposed to have made.

Right, because there is no middle ground. Because no one would ever say “I don’t want a public option and I think that health insurance companies are soulless entities that will fuck you over in a heartbeat if it means they can save $5.” I mean, come on people, these are the same companies that won’t pay for my birth control even though it saves them more money than covering my pregnancy. Do you really think I’m going to be a fan of them?

It must all come back to the idea that I’m a fucking idiot because I didn’t finish high school. Thank you, President Obama, for helping to solidify stereotypes, further encourage classism, and put a Dubya-esque “stay in school….or the terrorists win” twist on saying no to milk and drinking your drugs.

Thanks for being the change we all hoped to see! You’re so different from your predecessor!

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