Collateral damage

As an adjunct to Frankie's original posting about the Helots and Zealots, I would like to address all true Americans with a commentary that ends with a question.
We all recognize the impressionability of children- they will imitate people who appeal to them. Whether it's a musician, a movie star, an athlete, or maybe just another kid at school, they will try to act in a way that resembles the person that they admire. If we're lucky and we do a good job of raising them, our children will imitate us, at least to an extent. If they act exactly like us, something is definitely wrong- with both parent and child. A healthy child will have a unique identity.
One of the clearest and simplest theories of identity development is described as satellization. In the early stages of identity development, a child's personality and identity revolve around their immediate family unit. This is what is meant by satellization.
Eventually, the child breaks away from the family unit as a necessary step in the development of their own identity. It doesn't have to involve a rejection of the family unit, but it does have to happen away from the family unit. This is known as de-satellization. Anyone with a teenager can recognize this stage; if your children are not there yet, get ready. However, if you do not allow your children the freedom to develop individually, you can expect trouble far beyond typical teenage rebellion. If the child does not break away, no identification occurs and he/she remains an extension of that family unit.
If everything goes naturally, the child will establish a unique personality, build a family of their own and establish a new system of satellites with their own children. Hopefully, they maintain healthy relationships with their original family unit and the larger, extended family becomes a center of gravity, so to speak, for all of the new children in the family. This is known as re-satellization. Solid family groups understand the value of a family full of different characters.
You can see the simple niceness of this theory: Original satellization around the family, de-satellization in order to develop a unique personality, re-satellization in order to continue the process of the creation of a healthy society of unique individuals.
And now for the question. It is directed at those who would refuse to allow their children to hear our president speak to their children about the importance of education. Are you sure you want to teach your children to ignore the President of the United States?
In strictly educational terms only, please consider the implications of your actions. If you are convinced that what he will say is wrong, do you have so little faith in your own ability to teach them otherwise? Understand that, at some point, your children will turn away from you, because they must. Whether or not they return depends on the content of their education. Are you sure that you want to teach them disrespect for our nation's highest office?