Make America sane again
The political tug of war has really gotten out of hand. Now our kids are getting into it.
A high school cheerleading squad was recently put on probation for posing with a pro-Donald Trump banner before a football game.
The cheerleaders from North Stanly High School, located about 50 miles east of Charlotte, N.C., had posed with a “Trump 2020: Make America Great Again” banner before a game. After the photo was published on a Facebook page, school officials released a statement in advance of suspending the cheerleading squad.
“We are currently investigating this matter but as of this morning we have determined this was not an act planned or endorsed by the school or its staff,” school district officials said in their statement. “A student attending the event brought the flag into the game … The picture was taken prior to the event starting. Stanly County Schools respects the rights of its students, staff and visitors to express their opinions in a respectful manner on their own time, however, Stanly County Board of Education policy prohibits the display or distribution of political advertisements on campus or at school events. Further, Stanly County Schools never makes political campaign endorsements. These policies ensure that all students, staff and visitors are able to attend school events in an environment that promotes students and not a particular political viewpoint. Stanly County Schools’ investigation into this matter is ongoing and we will take appropriate action as necessary to ensure Board of Education policy is followed in the future.”
In response, a protest of sorts was organized. Hundreds of people pledged to show up at the next game to wave American flags in support of the cheer squad.
Last Friday, the school district cancelled that night’s football game, citing safety concerns.
The protesters promised they would still support the cheerleaders by meeting across the street from the school to wave their flags.
About a dozen showed up.
The far right fired their guns, claiming the students had a 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech.
The thing is, the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that schools can place limits on student free speech. Of course, the law also allows for searches of private property without probable cause, remember those unannounced locker checks in high school when they were looking for weed? And, for years, SCOTUS has ruled in favor of censorship of student publications, speech, and a host of other rights you are suddenly granted at the age of majority.
The key here is that even though a football game is an extracurricular activity, it is still a school-sanctioned event and thus falls under the policies and procedures of the school and district.
As stated, the Stanly County School District has a written policy to never make political campaign endorsements, that students may attend school events in an environment that promotes students and not a particular political viewpoint.
The Washington County School District has a similar policy. Banners and other materials that promote, favor, or oppose a candidate for elected office or a ballot measure are forbidden (https://procedure.washk12.org/policy/3000/3600).
Student safety is also a major factor, especially during these days when high schools are sometimes killing grounds. Besides, protesters are almost always met with counter-protesters. Often, there are violent, physical clashes.
My question, however, isn’t for the Stanly County School District; it is for those flag-wavers who spouted ignorantly about the 1st Amendment.
Would they be so quick to organize a flag-waving protest supporting the cheerleaders if they had posed with a Bernie Sanders or Kamala Harris campaign poster?
I think not.
Those fine, upstanding keepers of American pride and freedom would insist that those cheerleaders hand in their pompoms and be thrown out of school.
And therein lies the hypocrisy, which we are all quite familiar with these days.
How else can you explain the hypocrisy of the Bible-thumping, supposed friends of Jesus who remain loyal to a serial philanderer who makes Bill Clinton look like a Trappist monk?
How else can you explain the hypocrisy of a base that demands truth in politics, yet remains loyal to a man whose relationship with the truth is, as they say on Facebook, “complicated?”
How else can you explain why those who wrap themselves in the flag because of the freedoms and rights that flag represents cannot be so generous to people of color or those who come from the LGBTQ community?
Don’t tell me “well, everybody does it” because they do not.
There are still people in this world with a moral compass. They may be a little more difficult to find these days, but they are out there. Seek them out. It would be worth your time, and you might learn something about human responsibilities and interactions.
But I’ll wager all I’ve ever earned and all I ever will earn that these are the same folks who got their knickers in a twist when those cheerleaders were punished.
Look, we need down time.
We need moments when we can get away from this brutal dogfight we call the 2020 election.
I would be very uncomfortable going to a high school football game and seeing cheerleaders flying a banner for any of the candidates. It has no place there. And it would be upsetting to see kids decked out in official school uniforms, whether cheerleader outfits or football uniforms, making political statements at a school-sponsored event. The implication is that because the students are wearing official gear, their opinions are endorsed by the school.
So just as I oppose teachers preaching politics in the classroom, I oppose politicizing official school events.
I can seriously get behind youth being involved in the political process. We need their youthful energy and their fresh viewpoint and participation in the system. Lord knows we older folks haven’t done such a great job.
But there are plenty of other opportunities for them.
They can organize and take voter registrations at their school, the mall, or any other places where young people gather these days.
Every campaign needs volunteers to stuff envelopes, to go door-to-door, to greet visitors.
I fear these students will be turned into some sort of low-grade martyrs and that this will spark even more hatred and anger.
We don’t need more of that craziness.
Let’s use this as a lesson in how to Make America Sane Again.
Peace.
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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