Using Kids As Political Props

An interesting video to watch in its entirety.

Myself, I hate that Lee Greenwood song. The song itself is not exclusionary, but has frequently been used as a political club, post 9/11, by supporters of George W. Bush. I don't know about the Justin Bieber song: never heard it. But I don't like it when politicians of any stripe use kids to score political points:

The backstory here began earlier this month, when a Coney Island principal decided not to allow a group of kindergarteners to sing Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” at a “moving-up” ceremony at her school. The news coverage and backlash has focused on the fact that the Justin Bieber song “Baby” was kept on the program.

Fast forward to Monday, when Rep. Bob Turner (R-NY), who is running for Senate against incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), decided to hold a press event outside the school, featuring a group of kids singing the suppressed patriotic song.

Video of the event shot by Politicker’s Colin Campbell shows it did not go as planned. Turner and the kids sang the song, yes, but a group of adults showed up to protest and heckle, and things quickly devolved into a shouting match. At one point, the poor kids caught in the middle of all this start chanting “USA! USA!” to drown out one of the protestors.