In case you haven’t heard, one of the latest U Tube posts shows around 20 elementary school children at B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey singing the praises of the U.S. President as part of a Black History Month event last February.
The lyrics go like this:
Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
He said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein Obama
Yes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein Obama
Song 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say "hooray!"
Hooray, Mr. President! You're number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country's economy number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we're really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!
So continue ---- Mr. President we know you'll do the trick
So here's a hearty hip-hooray ----
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Many parents of the students who participated in this musical tribute are just now discovering what went on in their child’s school last winter, and many are less than happy about the discovery.
The video has set off some families in Burlington, who said they were horrified, that their children were being "indoctrinated" to view the president like a cult figure.
"I'm stunned -- I can't believe it's our school," said Jim Pronchik, who told FOXNews.com his 8-year-old son Jimmy was one of the 18 students in the video. "We don't want to praise this guy like he's a god or an idol or a king or anything like that. That's the wrong message to be sending."
Pronchik said he and his wife were never informed about the lesson, which the superintendent of Burlington Township schools says was held in February as part of Black History Month "to honor the contributions of African Americans to our country."
But Andrea Ciemnolonski, the parent of another one of the students in the video, said the song was part of a second-grade project on a variety of topics related to the month of February, such as Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day and Presidents Day.
"They did songs about President Washington, Lincoln, and they did do one about President Obama," Ciemnolonski said. "My daughter was in the class that did the songs about Obama. It was black history month. ... It was something for the kids to celebrate."
Ciemnolonski said she "just can't look at it as indoctrination," though she added, "The comparisons made were a little exuberant."
Superintendent Christopher Manno said in a written statement Thursday that the taping itself was out of order, but failed to address whether the lesson was approved. "The recording and distribution of the class activity were unauthorized," he wrote in a note to parents and the media.
Other families arriving at Bernice Young Elementary to pick up their children said they were outraged at the songs, which also tout a fair-pay bill Obama signed in January: "He said we must be clear today/Equal work means equal pay."
"I felt this was reminiscent of 1930's Germany, and the indoctrination of children to worship their leader," said Robert Bowen, father of two children at Bernice Young Elementary.
"I thought that if this was a civics class in say high school or upper level middle school, in might be appropriate to discuss policies or politics, but as far as children in first grade, second grade -- those types of levels -- it's inappropriate to discuss how a president is changing the world after only six weeks in office."
Parents said the songs were performed in Elvira James' second grade class. James, who refused to comment to FOXNews.com, retired at the end of the previous school year on a full pension in New Jersey.
In her Friday blog entry, conservative author/columnist Michelle Malkin, who is likely the second or third most hated conservative woman in the nation—Sarah Palin has the top spot as Dave Letterman devotees will attest, author/columnist Ann Colter is also in the mix—coyly refers to the unearthing of such an event as evidence conservative parents were rightly concerned over Obama’s address of school children nationwide earlier this month and refers to such cultic adulation to the first black president in the public school system as evidence or readin’, riting’ ‘n rithmetic having been replaced with the “three R’s of rappin’, revolution and radicalism.”
Noting the historic nature of Obama’s election is one thing; deifying him with such spiritual references as “red, yellow, black and white, all are equal in his sight” is another—the words having been, of course, cribbed from the “Jesus Loves the Little Children” song many of us sang as kids in Sunday School.
“Irate” is the word that comes to mind when speculating how I would react if my son—he’s just two-and-a-half and I doubt such tributes to BHO are being taught him in the local daycare he attends at Greensburg’s United Methodist Church—were exposed to this type of political indoctrination in second grade. But that’s just me.
Now that you know, or perhaps know more about this little musical hero worship back east, stop and think what your reaction might be if your child, grandchild, niece or nephew were asked to memorize and then chant similar lyrics in elementary school. I invite you to register your thoughts in the poll directly below. Results will be posted in next week’s Signal.
