April 26, 2013
Dear Barak:
Your two girls are getting big, too big to carry around on your back. Too big to hold hands with them when you walk with them. They're now teenagers, and teenagers have a need for independence. As one father to another, you should give it to them.
You've done a good job raising them so far, but even with round-the-clock armed security, a long list of scheduled activities, and a strong Muslim religious faith, you still can't stop them from wanting to be like other American girls. If you try to stop them from listening to the television shows that other American girls listen to, they'll do it behind your back. If you try to stop them from sending messages to their teenage friends, they'll do that behind your back. Can you really find the time to watch them when you have so many other things to do?
During the turbulent 1960s, wall posters were sold with this saying:
"If you love something, let it go.
If it comes back to you, it's yours.
If it doesn't, it never was."
The same thing happens with children. If you truly love them, you have to let them find their own unique individual identity. Even though you, their father, are an immigrant, according to the extensive research provided by an Arizona Sheriff, Malia and Sasha are Americans. As long as they live here, they will want to be like other people who live in this country. First-generation immigrants sometimes mourn the loss of the culture that they enjoyed in "the old country", but assimilation is impossible to avoid.
Please avoid the urge to force your daughters to be more like Kenya where you were born or Indonesia where you grew up. You will only alienate them. You may be able to prevent them from influencing foreign policy, and you may be able to prevent them from speaking their mind in public about the tax code, but in less than four years, you won't be President any more, and you will lose a lot of your ability to control what they see and hear as well as your ability to control how they communicate with other Americans. You should get used to the idea that they will have different ideas than you do.
I have heard rumors that Malia is dating. Some of these rumors were started by YOU.
From an article posted on the Huffington Post February 15th. The links are theirs:
You see, Mister President, as much as you hate the concept, this country is a melting pot. Two centuries ago, the children of British immigrants welcomed Germans and Irish into our country. Most of them intermarried, and now, it's hard to tell them apart in a crowd. The melting pot did its' job. Since then, many people from many countries have come to our country, and the melting pot is still doing the same job, creating Americans out of a hundred other nationalities and a thousand other cultures.
If you truly love your daughters as an immigrant, and as a father, let your daughters learn that this nation takes pride its' immigrants because of what they contribute to the whole country as blended un-hyphenated Americans who are proud of our country and friends to allies like Canada, most of western Europe, and many other nations.
Tell the same thing to your strong-willed wife, too. She, even more than you, needs to know why we are the strongest nation on the face of the earth.
Dear Barak:
Your two girls are getting big, too big to carry around on your back. Too big to hold hands with them when you walk with them. They're now teenagers, and teenagers have a need for independence. As one father to another, you should give it to them.
You've done a good job raising them so far, but even with round-the-clock armed security, a long list of scheduled activities, and a strong Muslim religious faith, you still can't stop them from wanting to be like other American girls. If you try to stop them from listening to the television shows that other American girls listen to, they'll do it behind your back. If you try to stop them from sending messages to their teenage friends, they'll do that behind your back. Can you really find the time to watch them when you have so many other things to do?
During the turbulent 1960s, wall posters were sold with this saying:"If you love something, let it go.
If it comes back to you, it's yours.
If it doesn't, it never was."
The same thing happens with children. If you truly love them, you have to let them find their own unique individual identity. Even though you, their father, are an immigrant, according to the extensive research provided by an Arizona Sheriff, Malia and Sasha are Americans. As long as they live here, they will want to be like other people who live in this country. First-generation immigrants sometimes mourn the loss of the culture that they enjoyed in "the old country", but assimilation is impossible to avoid.
Please avoid the urge to force your daughters to be more like Kenya where you were born or Indonesia where you grew up. You will only alienate them. You may be able to prevent them from influencing foreign policy, and you may be able to prevent them from speaking their mind in public about the tax code, but in less than four years, you won't be President any more, and you will lose a lot of your ability to control what they see and hear as well as your ability to control how they communicate with other Americans. You should get used to the idea that they will have different ideas than you do.
I have heard rumors that Malia is dating. Some of these rumors were started by YOU.
From an article posted on the Huffington Post February 15th. The links are theirs:
Don't look now, Barry, I mean Barak (sorry, I keep forgetting to use your Muslim name), but Malia is fooling her mother. She's not really interested in dating a Muslim. She's only doing it because you're trying so hard to push your ideas onto her. What she really wants is some romantic diversity. If she had her way, she would date someone who looks like America, and if you really loved her, you'd let her.During a stop in Georgia Thursday, where he pushed his education agenda, President Obama hinted that one of his daughters -- most likely the eldest, 14-year-old Malia -- is officially dating.
"I do have to warn the parents who are here, who still have young kids, they grow up to be, like five feet 10 inches. And even if they're still nice to you, they basically don't have a lot of time for you during the weekends," he told the crowd. "They have sleepovers and dates. So all that early investment just leaves them to go away," he said.
A White House official declined Yahoo.com's request for comment and clarification on the president's remark, but it's safe to say that First Boyfriend watch is officially in effect.
In an interview with People magazine last month, the Obamas talked about the influence their marriage will have on their daughter's inevitable relationships with boys.
"The great thing about the girls is they've got a wonderful role model in their mom. They've seen how Michelle and I interact — not only the love but also respect that I show to their mom. So I think they have pretty high expectations about how relationships should be, and that gives me some confidence about the future," Obama said.
Case in point: The romantic Valentine's date the president said he and Michelle had lanned last night.
"She made me promise to get back in time for our date tonight. That's important," Obama said during his Georgia stop, "I've already got a gift, got the flowers," he went on to say.
During their father's second term, Sasha, 11, who arrived in the White House as a second-grader, moves on to middle school while Malia begins the many adventures of your average teen.
You see, Mister President, as much as you hate the concept, this country is a melting pot. Two centuries ago, the children of British immigrants welcomed Germans and Irish into our country. Most of them intermarried, and now, it's hard to tell them apart in a crowd. The melting pot did its' job. Since then, many people from many countries have come to our country, and the melting pot is still doing the same job, creating Americans out of a hundred other nationalities and a thousand other cultures.
If you truly love your daughters as an immigrant, and as a father, let your daughters learn that this nation takes pride its' immigrants because of what they contribute to the whole country as blended un-hyphenated Americans who are proud of our country and friends to allies like Canada, most of western Europe, and many other nations.
Tell the same thing to your strong-willed wife, too. She, even more than you, needs to know why we are the strongest nation on the face of the earth.
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