Earlier this week it was reported that, back in January, a teacher at Roberto Clemente Middle School in Germantown, Maryland had publicly reprimanded a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and even called the school’s security officer to escort the student to the counselor’s office when she continued to refuse. This, despite that fact that the “Supreme Court ruled in 1943 that students cannot be forced to salute the flag [and] Maryland law explicitly allows any student or teacher to be excused from participating in the pledge.”
The ACLU got involved and now the teacher has agreed to apologize, but Robert Morrison of the Family Research Council is outraged about the whole thing, holding it up as evidence that the ACLU is creating “future American Talibans”:
Is the Montgomery County school case too trivial to merit national attention? No. It illustrates how classroom discipline and American patriotism are under constant assault by the ACLU. Our tax dollars are funding this radical outfit. Thomas Jefferson said “to require a man to provide contributions of money for the propagation of opinions he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.” Surely, the fact that the ACLU uses our tax money against us is a gross violation of our rights.
Does it matter? John Walker Lindh is currently sitting in federal prison. He is the so-called American Taliban who was convicted of fighting against Americans in Afghanistan. Young Lindh was educated in Montgomery County Public Schools. Was he taught anything about why he should be loyal to his country? Why jihadism is a threat to all our rights? I seriously doubt it. By punishing a teacher who simply tried to give students the opportunity to express their patriotism and support for our country during a time of war, the Montgomery County public schools are doing nothing to avoid future American Talibans.
