Link: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/obam-f25.shtml

There is a logic to politics, and the American nationalism constantly invoked by Obama leads inexorably to imperialist war overseas and the repression of social discontent at home. This was expressed in perhaps the most chilling passage of the speech, when he declared, "dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country." This was followed by a call for "a renewed spirit of national service" and the passage of legislation to expand programs that pay for college education for youth who join the military or enroll in other government service programs.

The real meaning of this extraordinary statement can be summarized as follows: Young people who drop out of school are not victims of a social crisis produced by the failure of the profit system. On the contrary, they are criminals who are undermining the viability of American capitalism by their refusal to be educated to the level required to become productive (i.e., to generate profits for the capitalist class). And they will pay for their "crime" by being drafted into the military to serve as cannon fodder in the imperialist which Obama, like Bush, will continue and escalate.