Jul
Obama’s Stand on Video Games: An Irony
People loved Barack Obama because of his refreshing leadership and youthful charisma. People all over the world, especially the youth, knew him because of his strategy in making good use of the newest form of media and for treating the youth as the number one priority of his agenda as president. The internet, which is one the primary media he used, eventually made him the first black president in the history of United States of America.
But what seems to be the idol before of the youth, especially the video gamers, turns out to be villain of the game now. For three times already since his election as the president of the United States, President Obama was quoted saying video games are harmful to the children. Why does President Obama had a change of heart?
During the Campaign
Looking back at the time when he was not yet elected and the campaign process is still going on, President Obama is moving his Presidential campaign in front of gamers by promoting inside Xbox 360 games like Burnout Paradise and Madden 09. You can observe his face on in-game posters asking for votes and promising change.
After the Election
Obama’s supposed positive stand on video games is likely replaced with the negative one after he was elected. Many people, especially the video gamers, noticed that he is linking underachievement of children to video games. Thus, in one of the speeches of Obama, he was quoted saying:
“I know how hard it will be to alleviate poverty that has built up over centuries, how hard it will be to fix schools, because changing our schools will require not just money, but a change in attitudes. We’re going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that’s going to take some time. “(2/20/08 Washington Post)
And on his recent speech at the American Medical Association on June 15, 2009, President was again noting the video games as a health concern on children.
‘The second step that we can all agree on is to invest more in preventive care so that we can avoid illness and disease in the first place. That starts with each of us taking more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. It means quitting smoking, going in for that mammogram or colon cancer screening. It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from the video games…”
The Irony
President Obama’s stand on video games is really very paradoxical. He thinks that video games are bad for the children yet during the Christmas of 2008, he gave his children a Nintendo Wii. Apparently, it is speculated that Obama has been working on his bowling skills by playing Wii Sports in the Whitehouse.
The Reasons
President Obama might just be one of the parents who wants the best for their children by not letting them play any video games at all. Or maybe Obama just seriously follow the wii instructions that say, “why not take a break and go play outside?”
Whatever reasons he might have, he might as well make a clarification that video games can only be a bad habit if important things are left undone because of constant playing. After all, he must thank a lot for these video game companies for making him at least popular to the gamers.
It’s not yet too late for President Obama!
