Saturday, February 07, 2009

Al Gore Tells Kids "Don't Listen To Your Parents"

Former Vice President Al Gore has been tape-recorded telling a conference of young people in Washington, D.C., just before President Barack Obama's inauguration that they know more than their parents. The story appeared via Glenn Beck's television show on the Fox News Channel, where he had Caitlin Glenn and her father, Andy, discussing the speech today. A video of the program segment was posted on Beck's The Hope For America website. On the tape, Gore states: "When I was your age and the civil rights revolution was unfolding, and we kids asked our parents and their generation, 'Explain to me again why it's okay for the law to officially discriminate against people because of their skin color?' "And when our parents' generation couldn't answer that question, that's when the law started to change. There are some things about our world that you know that older people don't know," he continued. Former Vice President Al Gore has been tape-recorded telling a conference of young people in Washington, D.C., just before President Barack Obama's inauguration that they know more than their parents. The story appeared via Glenn Beck's television show on the Fox News Channel, where he had Caitlin Glenn and her father, Andy, discussing the speech today. A video of the program segment was posted on Beck's The Hope For America website. On the tape, Gore states: "When I was your age and the civil rights revolution was unfolding, and we kids asked our parents and their generation, 'Explain to me again why it's okay for the law to officially discriminate against people because of their skin color?'"And when our parents' generation couldn't answer that question, that's when the law started to change. There are some things about our world that you know that older people don't know," he continued. "Why would that be? Well in a period of rapid change, the old assumptions sometimes just don’t work anymore because they're out of date," Gore said. Caitlin had been invited months before the election to the event that featured Gore as a speaker, and she was excited to attend the invitation-only event. Her father said the family thought it an "incredible opportunity" for her. The discussion about taping the speech came up late in the fall when Obama had won the election and was headed toward the White House, Andy Glenn said. "We realized what she would be facing … Caitlin and I started having a lot of discussions," Andy Glenn said. The talks focused on what Gore would say. "I wanted to hear what he has to say to you," Andy Glenn recalled telling his daughter. Caitlin Glenn said she was shocked by the instructions essentially to ignore her parents. "We're only teens and preteens and he was telling us to do these things," she said. Andy Glenn said when he picked up his daughter, he popped the tape into the player in his car. "That section you just played actually was one of the first sections," he told Beck. "Right after [I heard] that I stopped it. I was so upset. I was yelling … he just told my daughter not to listen to me. "Even coming from Al Gore I was absolutely shocked to hear that," he said. Gore could not be reached for a comment.