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Anexplanation on why accusing Obama of being against video games isnothing but republican (or a stupid persons) slander,Here is why it isjust not true and what he said is being taken out of context.
Unlike rival Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential frontrunnerBarack Obama does not have a significant track record with regardto video game content issues.
His speeches, however, often contain a reference to parents makingtheir children “put away the video games.” For Obama, video games seemto serve as a sort of metaphor for underachievement.
The Illinois senator repeated the theme last night in a victoryspeech following his big win over Clinton in the Wisconsin primary. Asreported by the Washington Post, which carried a transcript and video of the speech, Obama said:
Quote:
I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that hasbuilt up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, becausechanging our schools will require not just money, but a change inattitudes.
We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the televisionset, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence inour children, and that’s going to take some time.
A day earlier, speaking to a college crowd in Youngstown, Ohio, Obama made similar remarks. The Youngstown Vindicator reports:
Quote:
[Obama called for] investments in early childhoodeducation to close the achievement gap, but with an added emphasis onpoetry, music and art, not just academics. Obama admonished parents todo their part by turning off the television, putting away the videogames, and instilling in their children a desire to get a goodeducation.
Nor is this a new theme for Obama.
Quote:
I applaud the man for his intentions of improving the education ofhis nation’s children, and putting forward the idea of instilling themwith a desire to further and better themselves, but I just don’t agreeat all with him using video games as an example of something thatstands in the way of this goal. Children are perfectly capable ofplaying video games AND getting good grades/succeeding at school, it’sall a matter of balance.
“We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the televisionset, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence inour children, and that’s going to take some time.”
Better parenting, I approve of. Turn off the tv? I would argue thata lot of what is on tv is atrocious these days, with all the vapid chatshows and mindless reality tv, as well as the promotion of the ignorantand unworthy as celebrities, kids are better off with less tv. Instilla sense of excellence in kids? Damn right! There is no more effectiveway of making a child better at something, than making them WANT to bebetter.
But finally, he says we have to put the video games away. Iunderstand that a kid who is aiming for good grades will have to switchoff their console/pc and study, but that does not mean that when theyhave their homework/study done that they can’t play games to relax.It’s a passtime like any other, if you spend too long at it and neglectyour studies, your grades will reflect this.
I wonder what the reaction might have been had Obama said: “We’vegot to turn off the tv, put down the basketballs and footballs, andinstill a sense of….”
Or can you imagine the outrage if his words were: “We’ve got to turnoff the tv, stop spending our time in church and praying, and instill asense of….”
It doesn’t matter what the activity is, any hobby can co-exist withsuccessful studies as long as it is in moderation. Worked for me…
Shoehorn O’Plenty, B.Sc, avid gamer.
Democratic presidential candidate nominee Barack Obama hasn't mademajor claims about the content video games like his rival HilaryClinton has in the past, but he's definitely been mentioning them.According to GamePolitics.com, Obama's been using video games as ametaphor for underachievement throughout his campaign speeches.
Many of his campaign speeches have contained advice for parents toget kids to "put away the video games." This isn't anything new,either. GamePolitics.com also points out that he's been talking aboutvideo games and underachievement in the same breath since April 2006.
In his victory speech in Wisconsin last night, Obama reiterated this sentiment:
Quote:
I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up overcenturies, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing ourschools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes.
We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the televisionset, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence inour children, and that's going to take some time.
I'm fairly certain my prime minister doesn't know what a video gameis, so for now, Canada is safe. But it's scary when a potential leaderof a country so passively attributes video games with failure. Itsounds like yet another instance of a politician not fullyunderstanding what he's talking about, and jumping on the bandwagon,proliferating the popular sentiment that "video games are evil."
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