When I heard about President Obama's inappropriate comment comparing his bowling skills to the special olympics I was very upset. This newly elected President who I have admired and cheered for over the last months insulted something that is related to a major part of my life. President Obama who is, in my opinion, a believer of hope and equality has contradicted his own ideals, which were spoken in his hundreds of speeches given throughout the campaign season. In my opinion Obama slipped up BIG TIME! Nevertheless, I am still an avid admirer and supporter of him. I also believe that everyone makes mistakes that cause a lot of harm to certain groups of people and, yes, this is wrong, but the truth is that we do not live in a perfect world. Instead I think we should take this comment and turn into something good and productive, a time to realize that everybody has their differences and that the world is an amazing place because of these differences. Also, that everybody's differences, whether external or internal, should be respected by all. In the words of Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, "This kind of language needs to be a teachable moment, I think, for our country." So, I think, in my opinion
we can all use President Obama's comment as a "teachable moment" whether its for ourselves or for another. On this issue I found this video of Good morning America's interview with Tim Shriver to be quite, to use his word, "affirming." Finally, this letter to Obama, written by Sarah from Class of 2008 (found at To the Max) is great and puts an uplifting perspective on this issue.
In other news..
Also, I want to wish you all a happy 2nd day of Spring! I am so excited for Spring I can hardly stand it! Oh, and just in case you missed it, yesterday was World Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. Don't worry, if you forgot or didn't know, I was informed by email a day ahead. Thank goodness for Facebook and its Cerebral Palsy awareness groups!
Feel free to share your thoughts...
What are your perspectives, opinions, or thoughts on President Obama's comment?
Are you all as excited for Spring as I am?
and
Did you do anything special for CP Awareness Day?
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3 comments:
Hi, Ann. I'm sorry I have not been the best visitor, I get caught up in juggling my kids/job/life and barely have time to post on my blog. I so love what you have to say about Obama's comment being a "teachable moment." A lot of people are just up in arms over it but you're right, what happened should be turned into something positive.
I am VERY excited for spring! Especially because we're getting a last burst of winter around here, it's been frigid. Thankfully, the daffodils are hardy. Every single year, I can't wait for them to bloom. For me, they are the first real sign of spring.
On CP day, I finally told Max's birth story...and maybe give him even more hugs and kisses than usual.
PS (I don't know how to email you, so leaving this here): would you like to do a guest post for me sometime? Email me at lovethatmax@gmail.com and let me know!
HI Ann, I love your blog! Especially this post. I love Obama too, but that comment. What your post highlights for me is that we can get angry or we can learn and get better. Thanks for that. Sometimes I forget.
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