I can't stand Barbara Walters! I'm not saying she lacks worth as a human being. It's just that she gets on my nerves. I was thinking about this when I was watching the View yesterday morning. Elizabeth was pointing out that Barack Obama supported sex education for kindergartners, as the McCain ad said, and she showed that the sex ed covered more than keeping kids safe from child predators. She even went so far as to quote the actual bill that Obama supported in the Illinois State Senate. She made a pretty thorough case that Obama was the inaccurate one when he claimed he only supported teaching kindergartners about predators.
While Elizabeth was talking, Barbara had this befuddled look like "She doesn't know what she's talking about." She's quoting the actual bill, Barbara! Then, Barbara accused Elizabeth of distortion because she left out two things: (1.) that the bill says the sex ed must be age-appropriate, and (2.) that parents can opt their children out of it if they have objections.
First of all, "age-appropriate" is a pretty subjective term. SIECUS' manual on sex education (which the Obama campaign endorsed by sending it to MSNBC) advocates that kindergartners learn about the sexual act, the names of their body parts, the "m" word, and how homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle (see Obama on Sex Education). I don't consider any of that to be age-appropriate. Many of us wouldn't let our young children watch an X-rated film that depicts sexual activity, so why should they learn about it in school?
Second, it's good that parents can opt their kids out of the sex ed. But what if the parents don't know what their kids are learning? They just go happily along, assuming the teachers are instructing their kindergarten children in what kindergartners actually need to know. They may have no idea that their children are learning SIECUS sex ed! Also, as I've asked before, if liberals are open to allowing parents to opt their children out of sex ed, why can't they have the same policy with school prayer? But, no, with school prayer, it has to be removed completely lest one student take offense. After all, we wouldn't want him to feel left out or ostracized. But such concern goes out the door when the issue is something conservatives care about (smut in schools).
And, third, what about Obama's distortion? Do you forget that, Barbara, in your apparent adulation for the man? I guess that doesn't matter.
I'm glad John McCain is standing by his ads. He's not going to let a group of self-appointed gatekeepers tell him what he can and cannot bring up in his campaign.
And I'm also happy that we have alternative forms of media these days: talk radio, Fox News, and the Internet. We don't have to take the liberal media's word for it that John McCain is inaccurate. We can actually access the bill that Barack Obama supported. We can read people who defend the idea that Sarah Palin killed the Bridge to Nowhere. The liberal media no longer have as much of a monopoly on information as they once did.