‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal?
by Adam BaldwinThe Public Broadcasting System’s taxpayer-funded ‘Sesame Street’ has, at cursory glance, presented young American children with what colorfully appears to be one of television’s few safe havens of educational fun.
Yet, embedded in its visually intoxicating muppetry and otherwise innocently entertaining educational content there lurks highly controversial political messages designed to promote multiculturalism and global citizenship:
–
”We all sing with the same voice, the same song, the same voice. We all sing with the same voice and we sing in harmony…
I live in southern France, I’m from a Texas ranch, I come from Mecca and Peru… I come from everywhere, and my name is you…”
That’s right kids! We’re ‘All’ the ‘same’… um, except that we’re all different.
As Orwell deconstructed: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
What next, “Monsters are entitled to their opinions and those opinions deserve equal respect to humans”?
Our tax dollars by the $tens of millions$ have been redistributed to the CPB/PBS for decades to ‘help’ its social change agents reach into our homes and preach the gospel of multiculturalism.
It is both ironic and hypocritical that the folks producing and airing such socially conscious segments for “Sesame Street” would certainly be among the very first to intolerantly decry the holy leftist “separation of church and state!” political canard.
Kermit the frog once sang: “It’s not that easy being green.”
Neither it seems is it that easy for leftists to foment coherent messaging, even towards our kids simmering in the pot. For those that argue, ‘just turn off the TV,’ I agree and that’s all well and good. The trouble is that we are not free to turn off the statist confiscation of our hard earned money that funds this nonsense.
When is the last time God Bless America was sung, or the Pledge of Allegiance recited on ‘Sesame Street?’
- Our taxpayer-funded institutions of public education are using everyone’s hard earned dollars to inculcate the anti-American sovereignty values of progressives’ sectarian belief systems (e.g., ‘global citizenship’ & teaching for ‘social justice’).
- Public schools are undermining patriotic exercises like the Pledge of Allegiance, while promoting outside political advocacy groups such as the American Bar Association to instruct ‘Pledge of Tolerance’ lesson plans.
- The American president misappropriates Department of Education funds to produce a lesson plan designed to marginalize children away from their parents to Serve.gov himself as their iconic leader.
- The National Education Association is recommends Saul Alinsky texts while hawking the president’s government control of health care.
- The First Lady is peddling her little agrarian gardens.
- The National Endowment for the Arts is being exploited to promote one-sided legislative agendas.
- The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is producing anti-American-values-propaganda disguised as education.
Americans should demand the withdrawal of funding from divisive social justice organizers and educators whose goal is to subvert the family and our national motto, E Pluribus Unum.
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138 Comments
Adam! There you go again, blowing the lid off the witches cauldron, exposing all the bones and dead mice and tails of newt! Go get 'em. This is twice in a row now! Every word you speak comes juming out of my own mouth, and you do not take prisoners! Lord, man, please run against Henry Waxman!
He forgot the line in the song "I've got one daddy, I've got two". That could possibly mean a step dad, but who knows.
Adam I love your common sense thinking. It makes me sick my tax dollars go to fund this shizz.
I second the idea of Adam running for office. Who would want to go up against Animal Mother??
I thought that it had a nice catchy tune. But so does God Bless America. My kids go to private school and they
teach true American History about the founding fathers. Consitution and the Bill of Rights. My kids are proud to be Americans. Homeschooling anyone? whats on Seame Street is taught in our schools.
it must be pick on Seasame Street day at BH
I don't agree with all they say but i don't see it as th boogie man either.
giving some balance to our kids is the parents' job. Of course that is the way is should be. we can't let the TV or the classroom be the only education kids receive.
Responsible parenting, what a concept
Hmm… I would have thought that the people led more into multiculturalism than the puppets did…. :/ but I guess that was just my perception.
What happened to the Seasame Street of my youth, where all they taught was letters and numbers?
When in doubt consult one of the greatest written achiements in the history of humanity: the US Constitution.
As P.J. O'Rourke says, it's owner's manual for America, and it's smaller than the owner's manual for a Toyota Camry.
The constitution specifically states what authority the federal government has, and there for everything it has no authority over. And the words PBS do not appear anywhere in the constitution!
Reposting: Elmo interviews Obama http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/10/seeking-to-av...
Of course we're all the same. We're all just interchangeable cogs in a huge socialist machine. Individuality spoils socialism. The final paragraph of Joshua Muravchik's book Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism (which, while Republicans controlled PBS's pursestrings, PBS actually did a video program about):
When people ask you what's wrong with socialism, it's summed up in that paragram. The problem with socialism is that it inevitably relies on coercion to establish and maintain itself and that coercion is not only a loss of liberty but also frequently leads to mass murder of the opposition if they refuse to be cowed.
I like this one better!
Michelle Obama and Big Bird
http://usataxpayer.org/pagex.asp?Get=obamaeligibl...
I think that I remember my little sister singing this song when she was a little girl, I'm 44. And this video looks like it's from either the late 70's or early 80's. Sesame Street has been shoveling this tripe for many, many years, but we should probably try to find something a little more current to get worked up about, don't ya think?
Did your little sister vote for Obama? These people have been at it since before William Ayers' girlfriend blew herself up.
Yes, let's pick on Big Bird. THAT'S an endearing, winning political issue if I ever heard one.
I'm assuming I'll have to wait until closer to December for the articles declaring "conservative" warfare on that vile re-distributor of toys, Santa Claus… or perhaps that neo-pagan idol The Easter Bunny will be next
Multiculturalism is just plain weird. It attempts to highlight our differences while at the same time labeling everyone as essentially the same.
Why not teach that each person is a unique individual and leave it at that?
Because it's politically convenient (and highly effective for increasing the power of the state) to lump people into groups and pit them against one another. The statist's tendency is always toward categorizing society into neat little lists based on any number of arbitrary characteristics. Individualism makes it very difficult for the state to grow and dominate.
All ranting aside, Mr. Baldwin, I would support PBS 100% if it had bought the rights to Firefly from Fox…
The far left views people something like this. (From the ending of the anime movie Galaxy Express 999)
"When is the last time God Bless America was sung, or the Pledge of Allegiance recited on ‘Sesame Street?’ "
I'll take "never" for $1600, Adam.
But what I really want to know is if they include that "we're all cogs in the socialist state machine" crap in the 20 international versions aired in 120 countries. (http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street)
Sesame Street had this type of programming 18 years ago when I was watching with my oldest child. I learned real fast that I had to watch all programming with my kids and correct any thing that I perceived to be objectionable. Since I was the person they trusted most, they always listened to my opinion. Nowadays, they may agree with me politically but they don't always listen (you know how that goes!).
Why would anyone want to be the same as everyone else?
Sad to say, the national psyche is such that even Sesame Street is beyond most adults as they were raised on it. Now the offspring will suffer a worse fate and be far stupider. I fear for the species.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
That's why the left is so full of hatred. They truly do believe they are doing what's right. They just won't listen to anything that contradicts their hard core opinions on what works and what doesn't.
America: individual freedom, free markets, democracy = the highest standard of living ever seen on this planet.
Socialism: which basically equals communism, that's when they pick up the guns because the citizens refuse to cooperate with what it takes to implement socialism = N. Korea, Iran, Cuba, Arabia, Venezuela, on and on and on.
Right on Adam… and this "one world" trash isn't just being peddled on PBS (though I understand the frustration since they are operating with our money!). My 4 year old enjoys popular programming on Nick Jr. and Disney and I can't tell you how many times I've had to stop myself from throwing the remote through the TV! All the "global warming", "recycle", "earth citizen" crap is truly frightening. No mention of America, our history, our men and women in the Armed Forces… nothing like that! This is a calculated strategy from the liberal, globalists in the entertainment arena to infect our children with the ideologies of Green Peace, NOW, PETA, etc… Not the kind of change I'm looking for in my children!
By labeling Santa as a re-distributor of toys you imply that he steals toys from some children and re-distributes them to others. You describe the process by which tax dollars are wrested from unwilling citizens and doled out to PBS executives, but this is certainly not the process through which Santa Claus operates.
You know, I have no problem with them shoveling what ever type of excrement they want, just don't make me pay for it.
In a truly free market of ideas, they would be forced to fail or succeed based upon the will of free consumers. But that doesn't work for them. They keep losing.
If any public welfare program should be able to pay for itself, you'd think muppets would be it. Do you know how many "Tickle Me Elmo" units they've pushed over the years? These people are loaded.
Actually my sisters 8 year old son cried when the Messiah was elected, and she had to sing it at school. . As I stated, this video was from a couple of decades ago, and I remember them being like this when I was 8 years old in 1973. Good parenting will ensure that the insidious indoctrination of our children will be resisted, that and kicking the liberal bums out of Washington that fund this garbage!
Adam Baldwin wrote:
"When is the last time God Bless America was sung, or the Pledge of Allegiance recited on ‘Sesame Street?’"
The Pledge was written by a Socialist. Is Adam Baldwin saying he wants children to be spoon fed socialist propaganda on Sesame Street?
No,seriously, the Pledge was written by a socialist,I know they don't teach that in the right wing sheep school,but it's true:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3296
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance
You're welcome,Adam.
And what's so bad about saying "we share common humanity despite ethnic/religious/linguistic differences"?
Question all education and educators, public and private. This piece makes a good case for home schooling, I think. Parental oversite is required …not even well intentioned nannies can do the job, so chuck that idea. Persevere parents, and let your kids' teachers know that you're a force to contend with when it comes to their education. You can make a difference.
Incorrect Bob, Santa doesn't redistribute toys, his employees are a population of other wise disenfranchised, vertically challenged, citizens (there's only so many department stores, Christmas is only once a year, and currently there are no plans I know of for a remake of the Wizard of Oz). He makes them. And I don't recall any labor strife or lawsuits from them, nor OSHA violations, and nothing from the EPA about toxic spills, so I assume its working well for them.
And I believe the neo-pagan idol is elected by American viewers, on American Idol, and that's a perfect example of democracy in action, people, uncontrolled by the state freely choosing their favorites, and freely choosing to vote.
There is also the deep-seated belief that there is always a solution or a better way. How many times have you heard, "It can't get any worse?" when clearly can, or "There has to be a better way!" followed, when asked for specifics, by "I don't know. There just has to be a better way." Whenever you hear someone say either of those things, challenge them.
Fortunately, adding "Under God" did a great deal to fix it.
LOL! Santa is a philanthropist much more likely to be attacked by liberals over his enslavement of the elves or his treatment of the reindeer. And don't even get PETA started on a holiday dedicated to indoctrinating kids to eat animals by making them out of chocolate.
Liberal weird beats conservative weird hands-down.
HEY! BAD X-FILES ACTOR!
I wonder when was the last time YOU visited a military base.
Sesame Street did.
True about the parenting. While my father didn't really want me watching Sesame Street in the 1970s (let's not forget that they were also pushing Spanish back then), there was certainly plenty of "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" going on in the 1970s and I remember a Weekly Reader story in elementary school in the form of a letter from the future in which children had to go to school in the summer because they couldn't afford to heat the schools because they'd run out of oil.
Absolutely correct! At it's core, leftists are statists.
They really do believe the next step is societal evolution, is supremacy of the state over the individual. That is their belief. The individual can not be trusted to conduct their lives in accordance with the greater good of society. There fore, the state must step in to correct this problem by destruction of individuality.
So, they cling together like a tribal mentality, excluding all who disagree, and attempting to destroy them, when ever possible. And by any means necessary.
Technically its closer to Leninism than Marxism. But then again Marx was just dreaming, Lenin was implementing.
Actually, PETA would slam Santa for "enslaving" Rudolph and the other flying reindeer to pull his sleigh.
"Remember that no matter who you are and what you do to live, drive, and survive, there are some things that make us all the same: you, me, them, everybody. Everybody…"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTJeT2i9QU
(About the same vintage as your ancient Sesame Street footage, by the way.)
When Oscar the Grouch was still a bastard………….
I was a Street watcher as a kid, just old enough when it first popped on air. It always had the liberal vibe, the suble shift that everything was about feeeeeelings, perception, PC garbage. Now it just seems full bore. I find it sad. Sure, they did put Ernie and Bert in an apt together, yes, most of the family shots of the real people on the show were people of color, but the eco push and all of that was nowhere in sight. It does stick in a kid's mind what they learn from shows like this. I can still freaking remember the words to about 10 songs from the early 70s I learned ffrom there. This stuff stays with ya.
Two articles in three days from the Man They Call Adam? Wow, my week's looking up. =)
My new conviction is taking shape.
Everyone has problems, and we need to let them work out their problems. We need to stop arguing there is no problem, but we need to also stop trying to help people all the time. It's insulting to try to tell others what they should need or want. So, my name is not you. Ask for what you want. I can't guess.
Huh… I would have thought it facist…. being nationalistic and all….
Amazing!!! a video show children actually having fun on a playground (without helmets)
kill the audio
it's great snap without the noise
Nor do the words "U. S. Air Force." Let's stop using our tax dollars to fund that unconstitutional boon-doggle!!
Ever hear of " Ride 2 Recovery"? Read about it and who's given their time and then continue being a tard.
And this country was founded by slaveholders. What's your point Oily? This country is great and teaching your kids allegiance to the flag of this great country is great. A "pledge" in Maoist China, not so great; a "pledge" in the U.S., great.
"Common humanity"? You DEFINITELY have watched too much Sesame Street. You share a common humanity with Islamic terrorists? Wow, someone check Oily's shoes for plastic explosive. They'll be the first to say they have no humanity in common with an infidel like you. Now, should you choose to convert to their brand of Islam (whatever that is) . . .
Ermmm… When Orwell wrote “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" it was meant as a warning, not an affirmation.
This message was brought to you by the Letters P and C…..Politically and Correct.
Also the letters R and A helped…… pronounced by our pirate friends as AAArrrggghhhh
And A contributes for the meaning of Armageddon…the signs are upon us.
Put them all together and they spell what ???? C.R.A.P !!!!
I need to add a caveat to your point. I've listened to enough middle-class liberals, that I believe some of them actually believe that voting for big government programs is an attempt at Christian goodness of some kind. But, more of those who vote leftwing are the have-nots motivated to vote for coinage from the Emperor in a fashion employed by despots from the Roman Empire on.
In which case the Democratic leadership are hate-mongers invested in class-warfare. And worse yet, this is not the least of their sins. Many of the ruling class, Pelosi, Obama, Clinton, et.al. are the people that Ayn Rand warned us about: Elitists with no goal but to maintain their elite position at all costs.
It stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there’s someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice, speaks of slaves and masters. And intends to be the master.
-Ayn Rand
wow… it takes some brains to attack the author's acting… Since that's what his post was about "Adam Baldwin's Bad x-files style acting" yep… Oh, and the part about visiting a military base… I remember that line in the post too: "don't watch sesame street because they won't visit military bases".
My daughter loves Elmo.
That being said, I know there are things shes going to see and hear (on Sesame Street and out in the rest of the world) that I'm going to have to teach her are wrong…
I agree with you on the tax issue – It seems they make enough money to fund themselves anyway
What was it they said on Monty Python? "Who's an individual?" and hundreds of people answered in unison, "I am!"
My *hope* is that Sesame Street meant "we're all different because we're all human", and not some ominous socialist propaganda. You may effectively argue, however, that this generation grew up with Sesame Street and voted in droves (for that demo, anyhow) in the last election. Did Elmo interview McCain? I don't watch SS any more so I don't know. I blame 'Captain Planet' & self esteem based curricula, however, for much of Generation Y's more annoying behaviour.
As for Michelle O's garden, I *hope* it's an example to folks to eat better. I kill everything I plant, so I'd do bad on a collectivist farm. I can't even manage a pot of cilantro on the windowsill.
The additional points brought up (particularly Saul Alinsky) are certainly things that make ya go "Yikes." I hope you explore them in future posts.
Don't forget the drop-ins by Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Maya Angelou, Whoopi Goldberg, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader, Rosie O'Donnell, Jon Stewart.
Offsetting that is one guest spot by Mel Gibson and one by Kelsey Grammer.
I ignore the ex officio appearances by First Ladies Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama. That's practically in the Constitution.
Let's not forget the whole "leaving coal for the bad kids" deal. The leftists would kick up a storm over *THAT*. They refuse to admit that there are any bad behaviors, and thus they attack those who say there *are* bad behaviors. I think Mr. Evan Sayet said it best–they view evil as the victim of good, and thus treat good as if it were evil.
Anyone who thinks Muslims think like westerners – with our development of logic, rhetoric, and the scientific method – is stark, raving mad. They live in a pre-medieval world in which the Greek classics were never rediscovered and in an intellectual universe in which the Renaissance never happened. They are tribal, for crying out loud. Westerners are not relatable in any way to Muslims, which is why they hate and fear us so much. Acceptance of our way of thinking means death for their way of life, which is why I say that you can tell the level of a culture by how well they treat their women: Muslim men fear nothing more than losing total control over their women. The utterly disgusting practice of, "honor killings" is the final proof of that.
Cultural relativism is cultural suicide.
What have we come to. What's next? How Elmo's colour, red, is a hidden promotion for communism? There are more important issues to discuss, besides the political leanings of "Sesame Street". Hasn't the Tinky Winky incident been traumatic enough?
Responsible parenting was easier when you had a society that supported, not subverted, the family. . . that allowed kids to be kids and didn't bombard them with sexual or violent (or highly-politicized) images, blurbs, etc. . . You are right, Buckwheat. Responsible parenting is the bottom line – can't change the world. But, those who put the images out there, and those who consume such images bear some responsibility, too.
As for Sesame Street, I do think that the references are aimed more parents, rather than their pre-school kids who probably won't understand them.
This whole thing just makes me sad. I literally learned to read in part because of Sesame Street and Electric __Company (in combination with educated parents who were also educators). I actually read at age 4 and my librarian mother didn't know it until my daycare provider showed her I could read the comic strips in the paper. And to think that these guys are now indoctrinating kids rather than educating them. Sad indeed.
"One of these things is not like the others…."
The article "actor212" links kinda makes it seem that the SS visitation theme was to comfort military kids because they are victims.
I'm not going to lie. I visited Sesame Street as a kid (spoke to Oscar and saw Carroll Spinney rehearse as Big Bird with just the legs on..INCREDIBLY cool), and I still can choke up when I hear "Sing." (And I sing along. Badly. But I don't worry) I think for kids the age group the show is intended for–and it's still pre-school, I think–isn't going to be harmed by the idea that you should get along with people who are different, whether they're monsters (and remember–in the Sesame world, monsters aren't monstrous) or deaf or in wheelchairs or young or old or different colored. TIme enough for the cynicism/realism of the real world to settle in, but for young kids a little idealism about the universal goodness of their fellow humans isn't misplaced. As for the tax thing…I've paid for the all the President's freakin' pastry chefs and Christmas cards (and do I ever get one? NEVER!!) my entire working life…I just can't begrudge the nickel or so the muppets get.
Quite seriously… I found less to be objectionable letting my kids watch Cartoon Network than what was supposed to be "educational" television from PBS, Disney or Nickelodeon.
And I wouldn't have objected to the We All Sing the Same Song thing… at least not much. (Multiculturalism is divisive and insidious, but *why* that is so is something I'd expect to be lost on kids until they're older and then you can just explain it to them.)
I think that the "educational" stuff fails so often because it is ideological by design. Regular old cartoons keep it simple and more or less concrete, those lessons about playing together, honesty, and consequences. Not that they're always *good* lessons, but they don't tend to be ideological indoctrination.
Hm… that's really unclear. I probably wouldn't object to the Same Song song mostly because there's so much else that seemed worse to me, so it's relative.
The problem with multiculturalism is that it starts out seeming to promote equality and diversity but it ends up promoting alienation and equivalency.
Instead of individuals having equal worth *cultures* are portrayed as having equal worth.
We start out saying… that woman, there in Africa, has equal worth as a human and *deserves* the same freedom and safety as a woman anywhere else. And we end up justifying horrors on account of "it's their culture" and we are shamed and scolded if we dare to judge.
Go Jayne Cobb!
Adam:
Seriously, have you ever thought of political office?
I can see voting for you in a few years…as President…
Ronnie would be proud…
"The Ballad of Jayne" as a campaign song?
And he carries a M-4 O/U 40mm launcher named "Vera"…in the WH?
I LIKE!!!!
I recommend any "Tom and Jerry" or Chuck Jones directed cartoons as balance…
The Air Force is Constitutional, as it's part of our military.
Article 1, Section 8, U.S. Constitution…
But you want to play it your way, fine…
Go watch my border with Mexico…when the shooting starts, remember, you didn't want the help…
Be like Movie Bob?
Ewwwwwww…..
I'm going to play that video for my 3 year old. I will then ask her what it meant. If she answers by saying that:
a) The World would be a great place of all people were equal and America was considered no better than the other nations.
or
b) Daddy, that was propaganda spewed by left wing One Worlders who want to turn America into a socio-facist state.
Then I'm immediately pulling her out of preschool and dropping her off at Princeton.
My guess though is that she'll say, "Daddy, those kids were singing and playing." and then dance around the room like the little munchkin she is.
Lot of fuss over nothing. We need to fins better things to fret over.
So, for you, world socialism is better than national socialism?
Watch your step, its a LONG way down…
And Wikipedia?
C'mon Oily, you can do better…
Visiting. Heh.
What, actor212, you think they give sightseeing tours?
Adam's out there with the wounded troops…
I would ask what your contribution is, but I think I've already seen it in your post…
Whatever happened to Mister Rogers Neighborhood?
Oh will someone just pull the plug on PBS! It was cool way back before cable. Now it's just a drain on the budget.
I'm thinking…..the last time I watched PBS was 2 years ago. Ken Burn's The War. Remove Burns and Big Bird from the equation and PBS falls into the realm of the infomercial channels. You just happen to stop on them for 10-15 seconds and continue on channel surf.
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whats your private school!? how much? i'm so frustated too! even on Disney Channel, they're pledging to the Earth!
Adam- You rock!! Great stuff, I look forward to reading more of your stuff!
It's true, and it's no different than the multicultural BS that you get from other children-oriented shows. I will not let my baby watch Yo Gabba Gabba and she's going to be weaned off of babytv onto something else soon as I relocate back to the states..
Good one! I wonder if they banned that song on Sesame Street.
"…and to the Republic for which it stands…"
Well, he could have said "…and to the Socialist State for which it stands."
I never let my kids watch Sesame Street or even the locally grown Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. My kids turned out much better than the kids I know that did watch it growing up. They don't have the problem of worrying about "self-esteem" issues primarily. My girls can take something bad that happens in life and deal with it easily while the other kids I know who grew up or are growing up on the show break down in tears because their feelings got hurt.
There is also too much socialist agenda going on in Sesame Street for my liking.
I grew up with Sesame Street, and it has always been like this; in fact, I think this song was made when I was a kid. I never took it to heart as global propaganda; Sesame Street helped reinforce the color-blind perspective my parents raised me with. As a child, these kind of songs developed a certain empathy with other children, but I never found it was at the expense of my loyalty to my country. Perhaps with the anti-American propaganda being sent out over the current airwaves, the effect on kids today is different.
However, I believe our government has no business subsidizing Sesame Street. Elmo and Big Bird sell more merchandise than probably any other kids' show out there. Why we're paying for a profitable business to operate is beyond me.
If we aren't all equal, then who are the ones that we are to consider 'less' human than 'us'? That way lies racism and all the other petty divisions put up by humankind. Doesn't God[dess] love us all equally? Black, white, pink, yellow, brown, [green!] and purple? So why should we not do the same? That's the basic teaching of all the great spiritual traditions; that we should love one another and that we were created equal.
OTOH, using an educational TV programme to 'push' any political or religious agenda is utterly wrong.
If we aren't all equal, then who are the ones that we are to consider 'less' human than 'us'? That way lies racism and all the other petty divisions put up by humankind. Doesn't God[dess] love us all equally? Black, white, pink, yellow, brown, [green!] and purple? So why should we not do the same? That's the basic teaching of all the great spiritual traditions; that we should love one another and that we were created equal.
OTOH, using an educational TV programme to 'push' any political or religious agenda is utterly wrong.
If we aren't all equal, then who are the ones that we are to consider 'less' human than 'us'? That way lies racism and all the other petty divisions put up by humankind. Doesn't God[dess] love us all equally? Black, white, pink, yellow, brown, [green!] and purple? So why should we not do the same? That's the basic teaching of all the great spiritual traditions.
OTOH; using educational programming to 'push' any religious or political agenda is wrong.
Apologies, my computer hiccuped and posted that three times [sigh].
ETA: We had 'Sesame Street' in the UK [probably still do]. I watched it from 70's approximately onwards, on and off. I believe it is broadcast in a number of countries world wide and with subtitling/dubbing. Because it is [or was] available to an international market, perhaps including pledging the allegiance to the American flag wouldn't be totally appropriate? Nothing wrong with doing it on home soil if you wish
. Or not, if you don't wish.
I had no idea Adam Baldwin was this crazy.
Seeeee!!!!! It is always with you……
Children's shows have come a long way, baby, from education to indoctrination. Very sad, indeed. First Elmo starts speaking in third person, or whatever he's doing and that's supposed to help kids learn?
Then, they change the street itself! They change Sesame Street! How could they?
Boy, where's Bob McAllister with a can of snakes when ya need him?
You are all paranoid whackos. Please get a grip for the sake of our country.
Maybe you should work with Sesame Street to create a vignette on American Patriotism?
Several hundred new bureaucracies and millions of unproductive minority administrators and regulators…killing white capitalist America. ..like Public TV…MaO'Bama propoganda. End Govt TV.
It's absolutley amazing that the power of the US now protects and encourages this self-destroying Maoist Coup of America? Centered and organized right in the Whitehouse. A Maoist Coup in the Whitehouse and Congress….FBI? CIA? Secret Service? Anybody left? Didn't we used to fight Communists so they wouldn't take over our govt., media, and schools? Yes?
So, anyone left? HouseCall Enema at Valley Forge…hellooo…anyone home? Don't we still have tens of thousands of troops awaiting orders…helloooo is anything more important than KILLING AMERICA?
See you BraveFarts at Valley Forge…y'all come…the Maoists are counting on you fools rolling back over and going back to bed…
Oh yeah, I can see it!!!!!!!!
Article 1 Section 8.
"To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years; "
An argument can be made that the 2 year limit is no longer recognized. And I agree, there should be amendment to cover it. But seeing as it takes an advanced college degree plus several years of training to fly F-22's and such, it's not really feasible to simply raise a modern, trained, technically advanced army within two years.
The Unions attempts to win the Civil War prove why.
Agreed. I classify modern liberals into 3 categories. Level A) are basically decent people who are just trying to make a living, raise a family and survive. These people can usually be reasoned with, and usually consider themselves liberal democrats because that's just what they've always done.
They also include the category of those out for welfare. After reading your reply, perhaps I need to add a sub category of level 1), to differentiate between the workers and the welfare participants. But I still believe, even though they are out for the money, they truly believe they deserve it. Which differentiates them from level 2) Hollywood, academia, rich elitists.
Level 3) is the worst of the worst. Al Gore, the Clintons, Kerry, Kennedys, Obama, Emanuel. The people who know this is all a giant lie, don't care in the least, because they love the power, money and perks.
That's why I also linked to the Ayn Rand loving Cato institute in addition to wiki,here it is again since Mjolnir lacks reading comprehension.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3296
It really pisses you people off that a leftist like me knows more about the pledge than you right wing sheep.
That's why I also linked to the Ayn Rand loving Cato institute in addition to wiki,here it is again since Mjolnir lacks reading comprehension.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3296
It really pisses you people off that a leftist like me knows more about the pledge than you right wing sheep.
Where in that video does a child sing anything about Islamic terrorism? At what minute second mark Bobbo?
"And this country was founded by slaveholders. What's your point Oily?"
The point is that breitbots like Adam Baldwin and Bobbo are completely ignorant about American history.
This clip aired in 1982, so using Baldwin's logic, it must have been a call for children all over the world to come together and worship Ronald Reagan as their one true savior.
I never let my kids watch "Sesame Street." The liberalism was too obvious and too cloying. Besides, learning the alphabet is way more fun with Shel Silverstein. "E is for Eggbert. Eggbert lives in the ceiling…"
My kids go to a liberally indoctrinated school. My oldest son had to read the evil Howard Zinn. His teachers have tried everything to turn him into a liberal. He's now a college student and belongs to the College Republicans, and his personal hero is Ragnar Danneskjold.
They can try, but the socialists can only take over our kids if we let them.
It matters not who wrote it, but rather what it means to the masses of people who interpret (pledge) it, and their image of the America they pledge it to. After all, as a good Leftist (your word as a self-description not mine), wouldn't that be the the position you take on the U.S. Constitution? Let's analyze.
The plain meaning of say the Articles and the Bill of Rights are quite clear as they state enumerated powers of the central Federal government, which establish the concept of Rights of the States and the People (SCOTUS precedent has established the word People to clearly refer to individuals not collectives) as what the Articles do not enumerate. Moreover, if you study the history of the Founders, as well as the context under which the document is written, individual liberty rather than Progressive-style group rights, was the clear dominant theme. Madison makes this explicit in Federalist #10
http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm
However the Progressive/Leftist assault on the Constitution (my characterization, probably not yours) has been of two basic types:
1. To modify the constitution over time with anti-liberty Amendments
2. To stack the courts with judges who interpret phrases such as the welfare clause out of historical context (I believe the welfare clause simply refers to the entire document of enumerated powers as establishing the general welfare) to justify anti-liberty precedents.
I think #2 is far more invidious since it generally occurs outside the political process.
However as a good Leftist, I would think you approve of these moves, particularly of #2 when it suits your preferences. Therefore I would think you would clearly believe that the interpretation of the Constitution is more important than the plain meaning of the text, or the historical context, or what the intent of the authors was.
I don't really care who wrote the Pledge since it is merely a cultural relic interpreted in context, and is not a legally binding document. I gather that neither Mr. Baldwin nor the "right wing sheep" to which you disparagingly refer care one whit either. Besides, you might find it surprising that I think Socialists and Progressives are Americans too and as such contribute good or ill like anyone else (usually ill) to our great society and culture.
Peace…
Sesame Street has been doing that since the beginning. My now 40-year-old son watched that crap. I hadn't wised up yet. In the 70s it was a song about "cooperation" that they drilled into the kids' heads. And of course they had men doing women's jobs and women doing men's jobs.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by johnnyA99, Big Hollywood, Fernando Colon, Colm, Michael Chavez and others. Michael Chavez said: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? http://bit.ly/3cLGWT [...]
You're talking about an A-list actor as a young man. Take a look at his IMDB, he was the title character in "My Bodyguard" and was in Ordinary People. My guess is his movie career probably ended when they found him a little more conservative than the rest of Hollywood.
Would Adam Baldwin prefer that a kids' show teach children to hate and fear anyone from another culture?
I received a Christmas card or two in the past eight years. Don't see it happening this year since I might be on the Department of Homeland Security list for Tea Partying.
You fucking people to to light up a fucking joint and relax… sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and for you to see such conspiracies in what is a much simpler ode to just being a decent person… that's what scares me…
Then you could just…not buy it then. It's kind of like "turn it off" that liberals prescribe when conservatives protest, but when they're faced with conservative media of any sort, they call it "hateful", while being the side that wants to ban "hate speech".
Do you realize how many times I've heard Blake's Jerusalem, watching Monty Python–or seen various references to the Queen? Do I care? Do I get all "inappropriate" up in there? No. I realize that the people of England paid tax dollars for these. I wouldn't care if they had interrupted every episode Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for a rendition of "God Save the Queen" (I just wouldn't watch that part.) But I would understand that the British people had paid for the program, and so even if they played the Rule Britania on every episode of Fawlty Towers, I'd just hope that the taxpayers of England were getting what the wanted out of it, for their money.
So how much does the old standby of American provincialism apply when a Brit can tell Americans that it would be inappropriate to stick pro-American content into stuff that supposed to be funded by America?
Actually, it was the Muslims who preserved & developed mathematics and many other subjects in the past whilst most of the rest of Europe didn't.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_in_medie...
http://worldupdates.tripod.com/newupdates10/id142...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_medieval_...
It's a small world after all…it's a small world after all
What's the problem with teaching kids tolerance? Honestly I don't understand. At all. And are you being sarcastic about E Pluribus Unum being undermined by "multiculturalism"? It means "one from many" you know. And this country was founded by people coming together from different places and cultures.
I've read this entire article as a tongue-in-cheek satire — anything else would have completely obliterated what dim remnants are still left of my once-strong belief that humanity is intrinsically good and decent. The comments, however… I could not do the same in their case, because such black, festering bile has no place in humor (not even in humor that's as dark as pitch).
I will not make the effort to refute all of the ridiculous and purposefully alarmist claims made in this post, since they would be dismissed as little more than propaganda (as is usually the case with things that one doesn't want to hear and wishes to get rid of quickly, with little to no debate) but I will say this, Mr. Baldwin:
I am not an American citizen. I don't even live on the same continent as you and most of the posters here (a thing for which I am rather grateful, considering the significant amount of vitriol I see here against any difference from the perceived social norm — be it a political, social, racial or cultural difference). And yet, I've always found myself weeping when your country (or sections of its population) faced setbacks or great adversity — or rejoicing when those who were once disenfranchised managed to pull through. I shouldn't need to invest emotionally in a land or a people that I'll quite likely never see with my own two eyes — I shouldn't care about things that have no bearing upon my own existence. And yet, despite it being an apparently impractical thing, I DO — and the very same is valid in regards to any section of the world I might focus my attention upon, not just the US.
You know why this is so? Because of a childhood permeated in messages of caring for one's fellow human beings, of learning that no man is an island, just as we do not live in a jungle, where only the survival of the fittest counts. Because I was always taught to treat others with kindness and decency, no matter how different they might be from me — because of little rhymes like "We all sing with the same voice, the same song, the same voice. We all sing with the same voice and we sing in harmony… // I live in southern France, I’m from a Texas ranch, I come from Mecca and Peru… I come from everywhere, and my name is you…"
That you would disregard such messages of basic human solidarity and empathy that goes far deeper and wider than any one political ideology saddens me — but it also proves that human foolishness knows no bounds, especially when there is an ideological axe to grind.
My best regards go with you.
I don't know about trumpeting patriotism on Sesame Street in particular, but from 2002 onwards my local affiliate has prominently featured Liberty's Kids:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty%27s_Kids
It's probably the single best selling of the founders as heroes (to children) that I know of.
What exactly is you're problem with this? All they're saying is that we're all human. STOP looking for things that are not there… seriously, don't become as dense as Rush Limbaugh, or some other person that twists the truth/events to make false facts to support their outlandish claims. I'm not a fan overly politically correct world we are living in. I'm not a fan that many kids sports don't have winners and losers. The fact is life is full of winners and losers, kids should learn to deal with it. But we are all humans (of all nations) and deserve to be treated the same.
"…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." Our country was founded on socialist ideas…. QUICK KILL IT!!!
You are entitled to your opinions. But I feel sad for you that you can't open your mind beyond that which you have taken for fact for so long.
I'm going to make a donation to PBS thanks to you.
What exactly is you're problem with this? All they're saying is that we're all human. STOP looking for things that are not there… seriously, don't become as dense as Rush Limbaugh, or some other person that twists the truth/events to make false facts to support their outlandish claims. I'm not a fan overly politically correct world we are living in. I'm not a fan that many kids sports don't have winners and losers. The fact is life is full of winners and losers, kids should learn to deal with it. But we are all humans (of all nations) and deserve to be treated the same.
Anyone notice the words, "liberty and justice for all?" Or "all men are created equal?" It doesn't say, "just in America," either? Yes, we are all the same under the Constitution. Sesame Street is teaching the lesson of equality the founders put front and center in the Constitution. And equality under the law is the only practical meaning of equality.
BTW, Animal Farm was a lesson about the injustices of inequality, when bigots imagine they are better and deserve preferential treatment from others. Apparently Adam feels he should live on that farm.
And let's not forget that the Pledge was written by a socialist to foster nationalism in the mind of children. Only then could the socialist nationalist vision take root. Every conservative, today, should be opposed to the Pledge on principle as contrary to the principles of a Federated Republic, just as they were when it was first introduced. Back then, conservatives viewed the Pledge with great suspicion because of the then foreign concept of pledging allegiance to “one nation”.
To Americans of the late 19th century, “allegiance” was a feudal concept denoting subservience to a master. Americans considered themselves sovereigns, not subjects. They feared that the natural supremacy of the individual over his government, as reflected by the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed in the constitutions of the United States and of the several states, might eventually be overturned by the ideas expressed in the Pledge.
The Pledge is the problem folks and we should all be whole-heartedly against it, regardless the prop to religion. Kudos to Sesame Street for not being a party to nationalism, while promoting the cause of equality in diversity that the founders intended.
[...] a group blog that counters liberal bias emanating from a dangerous fifth column of Malibu gasbags, statist puppets, and singing schoolchildren. In 2009, he introduced Big Government, a group blog that counters the [...]
[...] a group blog that counters liberal bias emanating from a dangerous fifth column of Malibu gasbags, statist puppets, and singing schoolchildren. In 2009, he introduced Big Government, a group blog that counters the [...]
No, seriously, what's so wrong with what Oily_Taitz said? "'we share common humanity despite ethnic/religious/linguistic differences'"? I consider myself libertarian. While the chorus emphasizes the things we all have in common, the verses are emphasizing all of our differences, the full gamut. I thought recognizing each individual is what we wished would happen more?
It's too bad there aren't more moderating voices here. When everyone starts to have the same opinion on a topic, dissenting voices are needed.
To be honest, I think a fair number of posters here are blowing this video out of proportion. Pick on someone your own size. This video looks like it was made over 30 years ago, and if you're going to complain about something at least do it on a recent Sesame Street episode.
And pay attention to the lyrics. That's all I've got to say.
[...] Line Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: Habitat for Political Correctness and Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? Stage Right, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: It’s About My Children, Not the Puppet [...]
I didn't grow up with Sesame Street, but discovered it as a young babysitter one afternoon soon after it had launched. I was amazed at the humor, the diversity, the pre-MTV rapid-fire mini-cartoons. I also still remember most of the songs from the first decade, not because I was an impressionable child, but because I watched the show with my babysitting charges. It was a phenomenal show for teaching children about so many basic things, like hygiene, honesty, & cooperation, in addition to the three R's. And then, its "voice" started shifting as the decades passed.
Fast forward: my children, now ages 16 and 19, never cared much for Sesame Street. I couldn't understand it. They were more interested in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Veggie Tales, Barney, Bananas in Pajamas, and the Big Comfy Couch.Sesame Street in the mid 1990s was most definitely lacking in the impish charm I remember from the 1970s. And I hated the new show opening. I guess the leftist-socialist propaganda was already sucking the non-partisan joy out of it. Even now, when they play one of the original clips (back when Henson was still alive), you can feel the difference between "then" and "now".
Frankly, Elmo annoys the crud out of me. He wasn't a part of the early puppet cast.
[...] Elementary school shows Obama “pledge” video to students Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? Traction Control: Letter to the Principal, My Child’s September 8 Absence Jim Geraghty, National [...]
[...] Cookies? White House May Track When You Visit Dot-Gov Websites (video) Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? The Anchoress: “Why does ‘green’ have to look so [...]
[...] (video) Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: Habitat for Political Correctness and Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? Telegraph.uk: Bert and Ernie in Google’s third consecutive Sesame Street doodle John Nolte, [...]
I am stunned with each new blog posting I read. I vehemently disagree with just about everything you write. This one is so rife with nationalism I wonder if you recognize the irony in the fact that you've done so many sci-fi related shows. You know, "one world"? One planet? All in this together? Basically all the same when the shit hits the fan?
It's so interesting how a person gets a vision in his/her mind of how an actor/author/artist/celebrity is and then finds out it was all projection. Oh, well. My respect for your acting talent hasn't wavered. – And I don't mean your roles, either; I mean your actual level of capability and capacity for page-to-screen translation. That said, I'm sad.
The point
You guys
GAWD BLESS THE USA
ITS A GOOD JOB GOD GAVE US THIS LAND WE STOLE FROM THE MEXICANS SO WE CAN TELL EVERYONE WE'RE BETTER THAN THEM
I find it funny that a conservative quoted a socialist in trying to further his point. Keep up the good work, Baldwin.
I… I… I don't even know where to begin. You're looking for American history and military references on Nick, Jr. and the Disney channel??
Global warming IS frightening. You know what else it is? Proven science.
And guess what? You ARE an Earth citizen. You know, it's funny. Some things just *are* whether you choose to believe them or not.
I love how you ignorantly lump together Greenpeace (an organization that protects wildlife, encourages alternatives to the use of hazardous chemicals in agriculture and manufacturing, and seeks to defend our oceans from damage), the National Organization of Women (perhaps too radical for you, but are you actually pro-inequality of the sexes?), and PETA (interesting idea in theory which is ruined in practice by its adherents in many, many ways.) These organizations could not be more different. But hey, you don't like them for some vague, noodle-scratching reason of which you are consciously unaware, so they must be liberal pinkos!
This is the rub: any and every small mind with a small life can be a giant on the internet. I miss the good old days when the stupid were belittled into silence, their forum revoked until they either gave up or educated themselves enough to return to verbal battle.
Brilliant, Gabriela, and heartwarming. I hope a few people here will read this and see the compassion that er…um.. "non-conservatives" actually DO possess, contrary to popular opinion.
I really enjoyed that; thank you so much.
Someone missed the point of Animal Farm. Entirely.
Maybe Sesame Street could actually help to raise your education.
Tolerance is a disgusting thing! I'm homeschooling my children now so they don't accidentally learn to accept people who are different from them as human beings–preposterous!
Mr. Baldwin's views on the subject, as well as some of the subsequent comments, are wrong-headed and disturbing. Yes, how dare Sesame Street promote multiculturism! Tell it like it is, you oppressed upper-class white male!
[...] Line Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: Habitat for Political Correctness and Adam Baldwin, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: All Monsters Are Equal? Stage Right, Big Hollywood: ‘Sesame Street’: It’s About My Children, Not the Puppet [...]
I agree with what you said. However, I believe it is just going to get worse. America sadly tries to make it sound like it is good to all be the same when trully we were created as a Nation trying to get away from those types of attitudes. In the beginning we fled from a nation that said we are all the same therefore you must do and act as we want you to and not how you choose. What makes us Americans is the fact that we are all different. A large coming together of different cultures, backgrounds and believes system. All of this one government, one heath care one world ecconomy sounds good for now but it won't be a pretty picture when our rights get taken away because of it. Eventually it is going to go back to the government being in control and deciding all things for us. But we will be tolerant and won't be allowed to show how differences because that is not how America does things.
Sounding just a little shy of straight-up loony there, Kal'Reegar. I'm pretty sure the 'we're all the same' song is meant to carry the message that we're all human beings, and having different skintones or funny hats does not in itself make you any less mentally or emotionally capable.
This is material directed at six year olds, not political science majors.
holy shit this is wacky
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