Some school authorities have lost their way, their knowledge of first amendment constitutional guarantees and especially their common sense. Sometimes zero tolerance is wrong.
Here’s the story.
The date was Wednesday, May 5th, Cinco de Mayo.
Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California.
Five students wore American Flag bandannas and tee shirts.
An assistant principal and the principal asked the boys to remove their bandannas and turn their tee-shirts inside out in order not to offend Mexican-American students celebrating their heritage.
The boys removed the bandannas, but thought that turning their tee shirts inside out would be disrespectful to the flag. Their parents were contacted and they elected to take the students out of school for the day without penalty rather than turn the tee shirts inside out.
The school district authorities issued a statement disagreeing with the local school decision.
What the principal and assistant principal did was to enflame an already volatile issue in Border States like California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. They amplified what they were trying to diminish, common sense would have told them that.
The ultra conservative pundits have seized upon this story and are using it to push a political agenda. American patriotism and multi-cultural heritages have always blended into an amicable honoring of both.
The celebration of one’s culture is not the same thing as honoring one’s country. In my northeastern neighborhood we celebrate dozens of cultures every year with parades and festivals. No one gets offended. Everyone becomes that culture for a day. It works because the authorities join in, delight in the celebration and honor the culture and cultures that agglutinate America.
Lighten up everybody. Here’s the order of things. We are spirits first, human beings second, individuals third and nationals forth.
For centuries human beings have been fighting each other over the efficacy of nationalism. It is time to stop.
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