Religious Right Plans Obama Speech Countermessage

The Religious Right-wingers are certainly among those offended by President Obama's so-called "socialist/communist" messages in his planned education speech. God is the answer to their every woe, and simply accepting Jesus Christ and his message would miraculously solve every educational issue.

Students having sex? Not enough God. Drugs? They need God. Suicide, violence, abuse: it's just a lack of God. Even the college dropout problem could be solved by God.

Teachers, in this highly simplistic and religious fundamentalist viewpoint, would be effective if they could simply spread the message of one of the world's major religions. The "Get Schooled" programming (separate from the mid-day speech that has generated so much controversy) will be sandwiched by commercials paid for by Need Him Ministries.

The irony of this pissing match is the lack of attention paid to the corporate influence in education policy. It's religion vs. socialism/communism; the idea of a soft form of fascism completely escapes the American mind, our collective view of politics poisoned by the very corporate influences driving the education ship.

From EarnedMedia and the Christian Newswire:

Obama says, 'Get Schooled'? No...Get God!

Contact: Lisa Sams, 972-739-2150 ext 206

DALLAS, Sept. 4 /Christian Newswire/ -- There is a simple response to the question "Why are our so many of our schools, and the students in them, in trouble?" The answer: God has been removed from the equation.

When our children and teens are faced with drugs, teen pregnancy, suicide, violence, abuse, and so much more, they often turn to their teachers for answers. Sadly, their teachers don't have permission to say, "Try it God's way." Need Him Ministries has taken the opportunity to address this very issue.

President Barack Obama is slated to give an address to the nation's school children on September 8. Later in the day, the 30-minute "Get Schooled: You Have the Right" documentary will air at 8:00 PM ET. The program, sponsored by The Gates Foundation, features President Barack Obama, Kelly Clarkson, and LeBron James. The "Get Schooled" program addresses the challenges facing US public schools.

At 7:59 and 8:31 PM ET, and during a mid-program break, viewers will see "Something's Not Right" the latest evangelism commercial by Need Him Ministries, an evangelism ministry based in Dallas. The commercial features a series of statements including "I'm failing; screwed up; alone; fear is killing me." It is simple and profound. Using real people, not actors, this effective television commercial relays a very direct message. "Like all of our Gospel spots for radio and television, we wanted to push the edge a bit," said Drew Dickens, Need Him Ministries' Executive Director, "and it was important to us to secure the time before and after this program to offer an eternal solution to the problems facing our country today."

"Today in America, far too many young people enter adulthood unprepared for college, career, and life," said Allan Golston, president of The Gates Foundation's U.S. Program. Dickens agrees and believes that "part of the problem is that we have removed prayer and the Ten Commandments from our schools and curriculum."

The message of Jesus Christ and the importance of having a personal relationship with God will reach more than one-million homes on DISH and DirectTV. The documentary special will be aired in the first programming "roadblock" of any kind across all Viacom networks, including BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, and Nickelodeon.

About Need Him Ministries
Founded in 1996 and created to provide an evangelism response strategy, Need Him Ministries enables anyone to speak live with a trained volunteer about how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. More than 1200 radio and television stations, billboards, and newspapers across the United States promote the special call-in number (888-NeedHIM) and website (needhim.org).