True North

When I was a tadpole, long, long, (long) ago and went to public school we were taught a very simple concept: respect. Respect for the teacher. Respect for the principal. Respect for adults in general. But above all else, respect for our country.

We were taught real history back then. 1776, WWII, Alexander Graham Bell, Abraham Lincoln. We were taught (rightly) that this nation, this United States of America was a great and noble thing, something men had stood up and died for. Stood up and fought and died so that I would be safe and free to run around that playground and eat that nasty school lunch. And in order to help teach us little idiots respect we stood up every morning and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. We often sang My Country Tis Of Thee, as well.

Three eighth grade kids got suspended for not standing up for the Pledge. The school's policy is quite clear. No one is required to say the Pledge, but they must stand. These three did not, and they received in school suspension.

"My son wasn't being defiant against America," said Kim Dahl, mother of one of the students, Brandt, who attends Dilworth-Glyndon-FeltonJunior High School in northwestern Minnesota.

No, he was being disrespectful, breaking an established rule and being an overall ass. You've done a bang-up job so far, Kim.

Brandt told the Forum newspaper in Fargo that Thursday's one-day in-school suspension, "was kind of dumb because I didn't do anything wrong. It should be the people's choice."

No, you were disrespectful, broke a rule and generally acted like an ass. You are a freaking eighth grade student at a public school, one paid for by the taxes of American citizens. That flag is the symbol of the country that has wrapped itself around you and made you safe to eat your Twinkies and play your Xbox, you ungrateful little moron.

Kim Dahl said the "punishment didn't fit the crime. If they wanted to know why he didn't stand, they should've made him write a paper." She said her son has been declining to stand all school year, offered no reason for sitting and was not obligated to explain his actions.

Kim, you are an idiot. I mean a serious, empty-headed turd of a parent. They "should have made him write a paper", yet in your deep, thoughtful opinion he "was not obligated to explain his actions". What was he going to write a paper on Kim? The relative merits of Grand Theft Auto III vs. Grand Theft Auto IV? I look forward to the day in the not to distant future when your son applies this same attitude towards you, Kim. Good luck with that, mom.

Respect is a virtue. It seldom comes naturally and must be taught. It also must be earned, maintained and cherished for the invaluable thing that it is. We are losing the fight in this new generation, and maybe we deserve to. But our children deserve better.

Cross-posted at Anti-Strib.Comments welcome.