You probably hear it a lot, ad nauseam...America, the land of the free, home of the brave. That it is a place, if not THE place, of the market of ideas. This is where people are free to be stupid jerks (if I remember John Kerry right).
That is...unless you are a high school student.
Apparently we've fallen pretty far and hard since Tinker v. Des Moines. In that famous and turbulent era in history, Mary Beth Tinker, her brother John, and Christopher Eckhardt wore black armbands to protest the Vietnam War and were sent home by the school authorities for their troubles. But the Supreme Court and it's wisdom back then ruled that the school erred. As Justice Abe Fortas wrote in his decision, "It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
Flash forward nearly fifty years later, and it seems that students are getting mugged of their rights before they even get off the bus and go through the door. Just witness a smattering of examples that, if pulled on a regular tax-paying citizen of good standing, would be grounds for lawsuits:
-Kaitlin Nootbaar, a straight-A Oklahoma high school student, was denied her diploma by Prague High School in Oklahoma. Her "crime"? Saying the word "Hell" (yes, I kid you not) in her graduation speech.
-Cameron Boland, a Fort Myers High (Florida) student, was stripped of her National Honor Society for a dress that "didn't meet standards".
-Evan Young, 2015 class valedictorian of Twin Peaks Charter Academy High School in Longmont, Colorado, was denied the right to make his speech by his principle because it was "inappropriate" (translation...he was "coming out" as gay).
What was done to Mr. Young in particular really brought out the Lt. Col. Slade in me. The school didn't just deny Mr. Young his moment, but they in short order outed him to his parents, ignored him at the graduation ceremonies, and put on a full-court PR press to make him the "bad guy".
I never really rocked the boat in school...I was more focused on dealing with surviving my own personal and family issues on top of high school. But if I were put in the position to choose, like Mr. Young, Ms. Nootbaar, and Ms. Boland (and the countless other future citizens of this country), would I choose to just get along by going along or would I take the Right Path? The Hard Path? The path that could lead to a teachable moment, not a slapdown?
In Mr. Young's case, there is somewhat of a happy ending (if there were such). Not only has he been accepted to Rutgers, but he still got to make his speech (a transcript of what you will find here).
To the Twin Peaks principle and company who steamrolled this travesty, as well as the other Education Gestapo who share the philosophy of "sit down and shut up", I only regret I can't get Al Pacino on each of you in person.
“... And these children
that you spit on
as they try to change their worlds
are immune to your consultations.
They're quite aware
of what they're going through...”
― David Bowie