The consensus on the Santa Clarita Transit bus this morning among the chattering ladies who interrupt people's sleep was that Michelle Obama's speech last night was good,and hey, did you see her bare arms?
This was high praise indeed from the four to five ladies in row 17 who occasionally (and loudly) discuss politics in the presence of others. From what I can tell, these ladies are fairly conservative and their praise last week for Paul Ryan and Ann Romney echoed throughout the bus.
I particularly liked this part of the speech when Michelle O talked about the values they teach their children:
We learned about dignity and decency – that how hard you work matters more than how much you make … that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.
We learned about honesty and integrity – that the truth matters…that you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules … and success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.
We learned about gratitude and humility – that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean … and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.
Those are the values Barack and I – and so many of you – are trying to pass on to our own children.It's always good to be reminded about the values parents teach their children because it seems adults forget many of those values once they're grown up.
In a culture that enshrines individual achievement and economic success above almost everything else, it's almost like we expect kids to forget the values we teach them as they grow. Once we're adults, we find ways to ignore the lessons we taught our kids.
As kids, we were taught to share our toys and posessions. As adults we call that redistribution of wealth.
As a kid we were taught to help those less fortunate than us. Now we call that incentivizing laziness by rewarding non-producers.
Being humble about your accomplishments and being a good team player? America is the greatest country that ever was or ever shall be, and anyone who doesn't say that as often as they breathe is suspect.
Being mindful of the janitor's role in your own success? Let's all agree custodians make too much money, have over-generous pensions and should have gone to college like you and I did.
I liked this part of Michelle's speech because it reminded me that we should live the values we teach our kids. These values aren't just for the playground or the sandbox; they're for all of us. Economic success & individual achievement are certainly valued by Americans, but so are the ones we teach our children.
Anyway, what did you think of her speech last night? Email me at jeff@scvtalk.com
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