Avila_America+2

// What makes Obama, as an individual, so attractive? Are his values, his character, American? If so, then why aren't there more "Obamas"? Why do we look to be something we're not? Why do we have the desire to be un-unique, to assimilate? //

**//America: Our...PROBLEM//**

**Thoughts on Change: Reflection**

media type="youtube" key="Bify_I2GIik" height="349" width="425" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bify_I2GIik

BARACK OBAMA: OUR SUPERHERO?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94

News Piece

=Obama pushes kids to work hard in back-to-school speech =



**(CNN)** -- President Barack Obama Tuesday delivered his second back-to-school message to the nation's students -- an event marked by far less controversy than the first time around. The speech -- delivered to a thunderous round of applause from students at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- encouraged students to make the most of their educational opportunities. "Nobody gets to write your destiny but you," Obama said. "Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it. And nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is beyond your reach, so long as you're willing to dream big, so long as you're willing to work hard, so long as you're willing to stay focused on your education -- there is not a single thing that any of you cannot accomplish." The president said education "never has been more important."

"I'm sure there are going to be times in the months ahead when you're staying up late doing your homework or cramming for a test, or you're dragging yourself out of bed on a rainy morning and you're thinking, oh boy, I wish maybe it was a snow day," he said. "Let me tell you, what you're doing is worth it. ... Nothing is going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education." Last year, his first as president, Obama's plan to deliver a similar message prompted an unexpected backlash from conservatives who worried he would push students to support his political agenda. However, the speech Obama delivered at a Virginia school included no political references and was welcomed by conservatives.



**RELATED TOPICS** This year's speech also focused on urging students to work hard in order to achieve their goals. "More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you are going to be determined by how far you go in school," Obama said. "The farther you go in school, the farther you're going to go in life. And at a time when other countries are competing with us like never before ... your success in school is going to determine America's success in the 21st century." He called on students to meet their responsibilities for school by showing up on time, paying attention in class, doing their homework, studying for exams and staying out of trouble. "I wasn't always the best student when I was younger. I made my share of mistakes," Obama said, going on to describe a scolding from his mother about the need for more effort. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"It was pretty jolting, hearing my mother say that," the president said. "But eventually, her words had their intended effect, because I got serious about my studies. I started to make an effort in everything I did. And I began to see my grades -- and my prospects -- improve. And I know that if hard work could make the difference for me, then it can make a difference for all of you." <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">He also urged students to take on new challenges, with specific encouragement to rebound from disappointment and failure to try again. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"So, what I want to say to every kid ... [is] that life is precious, and part of what makes it so wonderful is its diversity," the president said. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">"We shouldn't be embarrassed by the things that make us different. We should be proud of them. Because it's the things that make us different that make us who we are." <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Obama also announced a second "commencement challenge," where a high school making positive changes and advancements is selected by the White House to have the president deliver its graduation speech. Obama addressed graduates from a high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Some of the controversy surrounding the president's education address last year involved a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the speech. An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing "what they can do to help the president." <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The letters "would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals," the plan stated. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">After the criticism from conservatives, the White House distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can "achieve their short-term and long-term education goals." <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Barack Obama

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Opinion Piece =<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Free speech helped avert Quran burning = = = <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">By **Jack M. Balkin,** Special to CNN <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">September 10, 2010 12:08 p.m. EDT <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**STORY HIGHLIGHTS**
 * [[image:http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/OPINION/09/10/balkin.first.amendment/tzleft.balkin.jpg width="214" height="122" caption="tzleft.balkin.jpg"]] ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Jack Balkin says the Rev. Terry Jones said he'd burn Qurans, was denounced, backed down
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Why? First Amendment protects his right to his action, but also encourages others to speak out
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Incident shows how U.S. free expression works, he says; social norms evolve, prevail
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Balkin: Best response not to punish but to condemn actions as against U.S. traditions

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**(CNN)** -- The Rev. Terry Jones, the leader of a small congregation in Florida, recently announced he would burn copies of the Quran on September 11. A broad spectrum of figures in public life, including President Barack Obama and Gen. David Petraeus, urged him not to. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">And soon, he said he wouldn't, offering a face-saving excuse. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">What explains this turn of events? The answer could well be the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the very same amendment that protects Jones' freedom of speech. The First Amendment allows -- in fact it encourages -- people to disagree with what Jones planned and to condemn it in public. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Whether one likes it or not, Jones has a First Amendment right to burn the Quran if he wants to. In 1989, the Supreme Court overturned a criminal conviction for burning an American flag, despite concerns that it would greatly offend people, including American veterans. If you can't be punished for burning an American flag, it's hard to see how the government could punish you for burning the Quran, the Bible or any other venerated object you own. And, unlike a Klansman who burns a cross on a black family's lawn, Jones was not threatening violence, which is unprotected by the First Amendment.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Video: Imam: Pastor 'absolutely wrong'

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Video: Obama: Burning endangers troops

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">And yet, despite the government's inability to impose any kind of sanction, Jones stood down -- for now at least. The reasons why tell us a lot about how the American system of freedom of expression works in practice. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Public opinion may be a far more effective remedy than legal sanction; a criminal prosecution might have made Jones a martyr to his followers. Under the force of public reason he was shown for what he was -- a petty bigot. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">In some European countries, Jones could have been punished for a hate crime had he followed through with his threat. These criminal laws are designed to enforce tolerance and prevent distrust and enmity between different groups. But the American constitutional system secures political and religious tolerance in a different way: It relies on more speech to counter the speech that is hateful and corrosive to democracy. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">It's important to remember that political and religious tolerance is not a natural condition in human history. Much blood has been shed because people detest each others' race, politics and religion. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Indeed, the system of tolerance in the United States for people of different races and religions -- and now for people with different sexual orientations -- has resulted from long struggles in culture and politics. It has resulted from Americans' ability to protest, state their views in public and win people over. Tolerance for gays, for example, emerged because gay rights advocates used their First Amendment freedoms to organize, make their case and persuade other people against bigotry. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Instead of having the government punish people who say intolerant things, the American system relies on people to criticize each other for violating what they think are the proper norms of tolerance and equal respect in a democratic society. People will sometimes disagree about these norms, but that disagreement is also part of free expression. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This system is by no means perfect, and its imperfections seem most obvious when you are on the receiving end of another person's hate-filled screed. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Nevertheless, its advantage is that it allows social norms to evolve and adjust to new problems and new circumstances in ways that rigid criminal penalties cannot. It allows freedom for obnoxious people, but it also lets people object to demagogues and hate mongers and turn the weight of public opinion against them. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">The best response to people like Jones is not to throw them in prison. Rather, it is to criticize their actions as contrary to our country's most hallowed traditions. Over the long run, using freedom of expression to promote tolerance and denounce intolerance is how Americans have preserved their experiment in democracy. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jack Balkin.// <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">//[]//

<range type="comment" id="646640">‍‍‍ ‍‍‍ [] (positive response to change)

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