Apparently "freedom of speech" does not apply to students in public schools.
While I think maybe this kid should have thought a little more before wearing this on a day meant to show patriotism, and also wonder how much he was encouraged by his parents, he definitely should not have gotten suspended. As a future school counselor, I would have LOVED to have a "how do you feel about this"/"tell me more" conversation with this boy.
I just had another thought though. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that free speech has its limits. Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of assemnly have also been redefined when in a government funded public school setting.
Current Conclusion (subject to change upon further introspective reflection and collaboration - that's all I hear about these days): A person is not protected under the First Amendment at least until they finish high school. After that, well, it's a case by case thing.
The father of lies Coming to steal, kill, and destroy All my hopes of being good enough I hear him saying, "cursed are the ones who can't abide" He's right Hallelujah, he's right
The devil is preaching The song of the redeemed That I am cursed and gone astray I cannot gain salvation Embracing accusation
Could the father of lies Be telling the truth of God to me tonight? If the penalty of sin is death Then death is mine I hear him saying, "cursed are the ones who can't abide" He's right Hallelujah, he's right
The devil is preaching The song of the redeemed That I am cursed and gone astray I cannot gain salvation Embracing accusation
Oh, the devil's singing over me An age-old song That I am cursed and gone astray Singing the first verse so conveniently over me He's forgotten the refrain - Jesus Saves!
This is going to be another long-winded one. I apologize. The problem is that I sat in my office at work for 7 hours today and only had 15 minutes of work to do. After writing the two papers I had to do for my classes on Monday, I had a lot of time to think and this is what I thought about (part of the time, anyway). Hopefully this will be my last "political" blog, because I would like to prove that I am more interested in other things.
I am annoyed by the way many have reacted to Sarah Palin's VP nomination. And I am especially frustrated that so many of these objections have come from the those who pride themselvess on being pro-woman.
I thought women's rights meant that a woman can do whatever she wants. If she wants a career, she has every right to pursue any career she desires. This does not guarantee that she will achieve every goal she sets for herself, but men don't have that promise either. But, like men, women are allowed to become whatever they want to be.
Therefore, it should follow that if a woman chooses to devote her life to raising a family instaed of entering the workforce, her choice is also valid. This is the choice I hope I am able to make one day. While I enjoy my grad program, I sincerely hope that I do not have to work as a school counselor for the next 45 or 50 years. I'm hoping for no more than five. Unfortunately this choice is often seen as a lesser one. The message I think I hear is, "You've been given a choice but you'll only be respected if you choose the option we think is acceptable."
However, it seems to me that proponents of women's rights (NOW, et. al.) should at least acknowledge Gov. Palin's achievements as something to be admired. I don't expect them to endorse the Republican ticket - Palin has a far more conservative view on virtually every social issue - but they shouldn't attack her as they have. Instead of choosing career over family or family over career, Sarah Palin chose to have both a family and a career. I believe this option is more or less the norm. More than 75% of the employees at the school board office are female, and the vast majority of them have children at home.
So what is all the fuss about? The way I see it, Sarah is a great example of the typical American woman. I believe American women find it much easier to identify with her than with Hillary Clinton. Yes, Senator Clinton has a daught, but raising one is quite a bit different from raising five, and, by the time she entered political sphere as an elected official, Chelsea was an adult. And, frankly, Sarah comes across as a person whereas Hillary seems more like a machine. She would never be mistaken for a hockey mom...
I think another reason for my frustration relates to what Rudy Guiliani said in his speech at the Convention: "How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president. How dare they do that. When do they ever ask a man that question?"
When DID they ever ask a man is juggling the pressure of a career in Washington and the responsbility of caring for children? I'll tell you when they didn't. When a young man in Delaware was elected as US Senator in 1972. When his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident a few weeks after the election, he found himself raising two boys (ages 2 and 3) on his own. He seriously considered resigning before ever beginning the job. If there were ever a time to ask a man that question, this was it. He apparently had doubts in his own ability to do it. But his colleagues in the Senate had no reservations. They convinced him he could do both, and do both well, and so Senator Joe Biden was sworn in at his son's bedside.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for what Joe Biden did during what I am sure was a difficult time. (Side Note: my mom met him as a kid and she said he's a very nice man.) Biden took the train from Wilmington to Washington every morning and returned in time to put his boys to bed every night. Nobody ever suggested that he was failing as a father and should resign to properly care for his boys.
As a sociology major I learned a lot about the impact of family life on the development of the individual. I can't recall specific statistics anymore but I do remember this: children with an absent father are a lot worse off than those whose mother isn't around. It can be argued that the father's role in his children's lives is a more powerful indicator of their future success than the mother's. So maybe...just maybe...it would be a fair question to ask.
And on September 11, I just want to say that I am thankful to live in a country where we are even able to have this discussion. As a woman, I am thrilled that what I do with my life is up to me, and if that means, being the vice president of the United States, I might not even be the first one.
On Friday, August 29, I attended an orientation session for my counseling program. As I was walking through Colonial Williamsburg on my way back to my car, I passed an African-American gentleman, well-advanced in years. I smiled and said hello. He responded, "Hi Missy. Come over here a minute."
I moved closer. "Did you watch the convention last night?" he asked me.
Did I watch the convention last night? Are you kidding me? I watched about 5 minutes of Obama's rhetoric and couldn't stand it and turned the TV off. But, realizing who I was talking to, I kept those thoughts to myself.
"Actually, I had to miss it."
"Oh, well, it was a very nice message."
"Yes, Sir. I'm sure it was."
Awkward silence for a few seconds. I wonder if I should say I'm voting for Obama just to make his day, but I can't make myself do it.
"Well, then I guess you don't know what Johnny McCain did this morning then, do you?"
Now I've decided this is the cutest old man ever. Johnny McCain? Really?
“No.What did he do?”
“He picked that governor from…what is that place?Alaska.Yeah, the governor of Alaska.”
Now I’m racking my brain.Who is the governor of Alaska?Surely I would have at least heard of the governor of Alaska…What in the world is he thinking?
“That’s very interesting,” I heard myself say.
“Yes.It sure is.”He paused.“You know what this means, don’t you?”
This is supposed to mean something?Oh, why did I choose to ignore politics the past several months?“No, what does it mean?”
The man leaned in as if he were sharing a secret that could ruin everything if the world were to know.‘It means that come November, one of us will finally move up in this world.”He then started laughing.“So, good luck.”
I smiled and walked away, moving much more quickly now because I wanted to get home and turn on FoxNews and find out what this was all about.
Sarah Palin.That’s what it was about.
I’m going to be honest.I wasn’t all that thrilled the moment it became clear that John McCain (or “Johnny” according to my new friend or “J-Mac” according to Whoopi Goldberg – that one is my favorite) was going to be the Republican nominee.Who I preferred doesn’t really matter anymore.It’s not that I don’t respect and admire what this man has done for this country – he is a national hero.I just wish he had a different position on some “moral” issues that I consider extremely important….
Recap: was not in love with John McCain.Wished there was a better candidate.Wondered if any Republican even had a remote chance of being successful against Barack Obama (for an interesting read, click here).Side Note: I’m typing this in Word and I think we should elect the man whose name does not get underlined in red, indicating a spelling error.I’ll leave you to decide which one that is.
Enter Sarah Palin.I didn’t know anything about her until a week and a half ago, and, after reading a lot and watching WAY too much news coverage of the convention, all I have to say is wow.I don’t want to get into too many details, but I loved what Albert Mohlerhad to say about the Palin family a few months ago.
You know what’s strange?I’m starting to realize that I actually like John McCain, too.He is the epitome of what a “public servant” should be.He’s spent his life looking after what he believes are our nation’s best interests, and this has often come at a cost.The honor of being President of the United States should never be handed out as a Lifetime Achievement Award, but if one were ever deserving of such, it’s J-Mac (sorry, I couldn’t resist).When he gives a speech, the message I hear is, “I want to do whatever it takes to make this country better, even if I don’t win.”It’s a beautiful sound, compared to the more popular, “Vote for me because I want to be President because I am awesome and a lot of my friends agree.And if you don’t think I’m awesome, I have two things to say: (1) you’re wrong, and (2) you should still vote for me because if I lose I might pitch a fit.”
I find myself excited about politics again.Well, maybe not politics.I’m still pretty jaded.But I’m excited about this election, and about America.I can now proudly and enthusiastically say that I am voting for McCain-Palin on November 4.
After deleting several posts because I regretted writing them, I'm renewing my efforts to actually maintain a blog worth reading.
For today, I just want to share the passage I've been meditating on the past couple weeks.
2 Peter 1:3-8
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
