Using the American Flag To Undermine Parental Rights
Once again, the American flag is being held up as a symbol of the current administration rather than a symbol of our republic. The ACLU is suing the State of Florida on behalf of 17 year-old high school student Cameron Frazier, for what they claim amounts to a violation of his free speech rights. Frazier refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, a violation of Florida law, and was punished for his transgression by being asked to leave the room.
Frazier, a student at Boynton Beach Community High School, sees his refusal to salute the American flag not as a question of patriotism, but as a statement of his distaste for the Bush administration, "I believe that the real meaning of the flag - freedom, liberty and equality - has been tarnished by the recent policies of our government. Patriotism is more than going along with everybody else and just saluting a flag. It’s about things like supporting our troops during the holidays and helping hurricane victims."
And, of course, Frazier is correct to say that patriotism is more than saluting the American flag. But he fails to realize that patriotism is also more than supporting our troops or helping hurricane victims. To ignore the foundational principals that have made our country great by deliberately showing disrespect to the symbol of those principals, the American flag, is not patriotism at all.
But all the wrangling over who the true patriot is just serves to cloud the real issue. The ACLU has time and again shown that one of the key elements of it’s agenda is the destruction of the two-parent family structure and this suit is aimed squarely at that target.
As anyone who has attended high school in America knows, in order for anyone to actually learn anything, a certain level of discipline must be maintained. As the level of discipline drops, the teacher must spend more time attempting to control the problem kids and less time teaching the kids who came to learn. The entire day in the average American high school revolves around a set of rules designed to maintain order - periods, bells, hall passes, attendance, etc., etc., etc.
The Florida law doesn’t require a student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, but it does require every student to stand. If a student feels that the Pledge rubs his or her political conscience the wrong way, a note from Mom or Dad provides the exemption. Asking the student to stand is no more a violation of free speech rights than asking the student to sit while taking a test is.
The real thing the ACLU is after is the requirement that a student get permission from a parent. Across the United States, minors, usually defined as children under the age of 18, do not enjoy the full rights and benefits of adulthood. They are not allowed to vote for example, and at least one parent or court appointed guardian is legally responsible for their actions.
The ACLU is trying to eliminate parental authority one law at a time. If they get to stick it to the American flag in the process, well, that’s just icing on the cake.