In the spirit of my post, “Not by the Power of Man,” a friend recommended that I search YouTube for “kids sing obama” — be prepared to wonder: should I cry, be terrified, be angry, hunker down in the comfort and rest of God’s good grip, laugh … other?

Interestingly, it took me several minutes of searching in order to find just the clip, because there were so many satirical submissions; video collages mixing the Obama children’s chorus with historical footage of the Hitler Youth, Mao’s “Good Little Children” and even recent footage coming out of Pyongyang, North Korean. While those are fairly easy comparisons for most people to make, the whole thing seems eerily reminiscent of the many children’s productions I have seen at church — especially if you pay close attention to the words.

WE’RE GONNA CHANGE THE WORLD
Music and lyrics by Lily Campbell, age 9

We’re gonna spread happiness
We’re gonna spread freedom
Obama’s gonna change it
Obama’s gonna lead ‘em

We’re gonna change it
And rearrange it
We’re gonna change the world.

SING FOR CHANGE
Music and lyrics by Kathy Sawada

Now’s the moment, lift each voice to sing
Sing with all your heart!
For our children, for our families,
Nations all joined as one.
Sing for joy and sing abundant peace,
Courage, justice, hope!
Sing together, hold each precious hand,
Lifting each other up;
Sing for vision, sing for unity,
Lifting our hearts to Sing!

YES WE CAN
Music and lyrics by Kathy Sawada

Yes we can
Lift each other up
In peace, in love, in hope
Change! Change!