Perhaps you never were but it's not uncommon for people to be praised.
It is uncommon in the United States of America to teach children to praise the acting president.
True. And wrong IMO. It takes pretty much a generation for the true legacy of any president's policies to become clear. If children are required to learn political science there is more than enough history for them to study without getting into the shallow waters of day to day politics, where the merits of one policy over another are very much in the eye of the beholder (the teacher).
In addition to which, there's barely a word in the lyrics of the song that isn't political vanilla.
The "lyrics" for those who may be interested:
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!
Hip, hip hooray!
So, in Song 1....
"Everyone lend a hand to make the country strong."
"Equal work for equal pay."
"Make sure everyone gets a chance."
"Everyone is equal."
What? These are direct quotes for Barack Hussein Obama? Wow! What a seismic shift in political thinking! Why didn't we think of these before?
In terms of intent I suppose the issue is are such simple political concepts an attempt to brainwash people into thinking that Obama is the first President who has ever set out such lofty goals, or are just meant to be simple and inescapable because they are to be sung by elementary school children? Either way, attributing these "policies" to an incumbent President is at best ridiculous and at worst politically loaded.
Song 2 bugs me a bit more, specifically...
We honor you today for all your great accomplishments.
We honor your great plans to make this country's economy number one again.
We stand for all Americans.
OK, celebrating the fact that he is the first black President is one thing. But...
Honoring his great accomplishments? He hasn't get any yet.
His great plans for the economy? Depends whether you define great as "big" or as "spectacular". Big they certainly are. Spectacular? Shit I don't know. It's entirely possible that they could fail spectacularly.
Standing for all Americans. Well, clearly not.
Are these just simple songs that small children can understand, or are they something more sinister. It doesn't matter. They are songs honoring a current President whose policies are the subject of a heated ongoing debate. As such, they have no place being taught to children. If I were a parent of one of the children, I'd be
really annoyed.
For the avoidance of doubt, it would make sense for there to be a general agreement that the politics of, say, the last 30 years or so should not be taught to children before they are mature enough to understand the difference between political fact and political opinion.