The recent unrest in California over four students being sent home because they were wearing shirts with images of the American flag on them is quite disturbing indeed. This all happened because some boneheaded and spineless school administrators decided that this would cause trouble since it was Cinco de Mayo – a Mexican holiday. Some of the Hispanic students even made ridiculous comments claiming that they were somehow showing disrespect by wearing the American flag on “their” holiday.
The American flag is never offensive in America
These students might have had a point – if the school were located in Mexico! But it makes no sense whatsoever since the school is located right here in the United States of America. It is never offensive to display the American flag in America. Let me repeat that: It is never offensive to display the American flag in the United States of America! If you take offense, then you are the one who has some sort of deficiency. It would be no different than for me to go to Switzerland on July 4th and demand that the Swiss flag be removed out of respect for “my” holiday.
We should celebrate our ethnic heritage
Let me just say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating Cinco de Mayo here in the United States. We have a rich history of celebrating ethnic holidays. St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, Chinese New Year, and Cinco de Mayo are all examples of celebrations that have their origins in other countries. Many people celebrate those holidays even though they are not members of the ethnic group associated with them. We do it because they are fun and we enjoy celebrating the diversity of heritages that make up this melting pot of a nation. But the nation should always be a melting pot. That means people come from all over the world to live here but they do not remain a separate entity. Instead, they blend in and become a part of this nation’s culture.
We are Americans first
When we celebrate our holidays, we should take pride in the fact that we are Irish-American or German-American or Chinese-American or Mexican-American. But we should never forget the common bond shared among all of those terms: we are all American! All Americans (and even foreigners living here) should have respect for the American flag and the country where we live. I have visited many countries over the years and it would never occur to me to show disrespect for the local culture or their flag. I would certainly never demand that anyone remove their country’s flag to accommodate me in any way.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few . . . or the one!
If someone takes offense at something that is not offensive, then he is the one with the problem. The solution is not to remove the students who are doing something that is not offensive. The proper move here is to deal with the psycho that is taking offense at an American flag in the United States of America. Even if you are demented enough to find the flag offensive, that’s OK as long you deal with it properly and accept that nobody is going to remove that flag to satisfy your twisted sensibilities!
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Forlaw-522 Says: May 20th, 2010at 7:15 pm
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