Dissent is Patriotic; Hating America is Not

A middle school in Colorado has crossed the line. Citing conflict over the immigration debate, Shaw Heights Middle School in Adams County, Colorado, has banned all wearing of patriotic attire.

Myla Shepherd, the principal, said that tensions over the immigration issue were apparent when more than 20 students came to school wearing camouflage jackets and pants, apparently to show what they call their patriotism and American pride.

I want to know how patriotic attire and American pride can cause conflict over immigration policies! I will save my immigration views for another post, but in my opinion, the wearing of patriotic attire to school is irrelevant to the immigration issue. To issue of war, on the other hand, it is very relevant.

One school even had the audacity to ban all flags.

In Longmont, the principal of Skyline High School banned all flags, including the American flag, because of tensions related to immigration reform.

If you ban the number one symbol that represents the United States of America—the American Flag, you ban everything America stands for.

I am known for matching. Yes, matching—my clothes, my purse, my shoes, my jewelry, my make-up. Everything always matches. It’s a pet peeve of mine. In spite of that, I wore a camouflage Support Our Troops wrist band every day until it broke. After that, I wore a silver bracelet with a yellow ribbon threaded through it, with an American flag charm and a yellow ribbon charm. I wore it every day until it broke. I haven’t replaced either of them, but people noticed and were amused that I wore them no matter what. It was a silent statement that people noticed. Even though it was mostly to laugh about that "There's only one thing that can make Holly not match," people understood that there was a very deep reason and meaning behind a simple bracelet.

Every Friday, I try to wear red. Several weeks ago, when we went home to Louisiana, about 15 of my family members were eating at one of our favorite seafood restaurants on a Friday night. All of us on one end of the table were a sea of red. People noticed and people asked why. (For those who are not familiar with Red Friday, see my post here.) On Red Fridays, it is a silent statement of “I support our troops and I care.” It touches my heart to know that people care and no doubt, it boosts the morale of our troops. I challenge you to wear red this Friday and every Friday!

To ban patriotic attire anywhere is against freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It would be different if these schools have uniforms, but they don’t. They simply banned the wearing of patriotic attire. This is wrong and should not be tolerated! To write to this school, the address is as follows:

Shaw Heights Middle School
Adams County School District 50
8780 Circle Dr.
Westminster, CO 80030

Here is a link to the story, along with a video. It is notable that the school says it is because of the immigration issue that patriotic attire has been banned, but the student interviewed in the video never once mentions immigration. She mentions supporting our troops, our military, and our country, and pride in being American. I agree with her words: “If we’re an American, I think we should be proud to be an American.”

More on Cin City

No, I have not forgotten Cindy Sheehan. I probably never will. I know this is long, but someone said it far better than I have yet. This is the best article I've ever read on the Cindy mania. Take a look:

Cindy Sheehan's mistakeBy Dennis Forslund

Cindy Sheehan, the lady from Vacaville, Calif., who lost a son in the Iraq war, is clueless. She camped out along the road by President Bush's Crawford, Texas, home in protest and/or to grieve her loss. There are other mothers and fathers who are also grieving.

In Baghdad, Pakistan or Afghanistan, a mother dressed in black robes watches as members of the jihad fasten a bomb to her teenage son. They tell him of his future as a hero of Islam. She cries as other women try to comfort her. This son is her pride and joy.

She sees the scared look on his face and the fear in his deep, dark eyes. Her son will die, she knows it, but as a woman in an Islamic country, she cannot stop it. She is powerless against the fanatical leaders of the jihad.

Islamic men with the same warped minds hijacked four American passenger jets full of fathers, mothers and children also went on a suicide mission, crashing those aircraft into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. For the most part, America was living in peace that Sept. 11, when our world exploded in flames. Fanatical Muslim jihadists who strap bombs to their own care nothing about fathers, mothers and little children in jetliners.

Cindy Sheehan blames President Bush for her son's death. Was he not of legal age when he signed and enlisted? It was his choice. He swore to defend his country and she probably approved. "His country." America. The foremost defender of democracy and freedom. Freedom of speech and liberty to worship. America. With our Constitution and the Bill of Rights. America. The envy of the world.

The men who booby trap their schoolboys in Iraq know nothing of civilization and democracy. Cindy Sheehan should know--and what the Dixie Chicks, Susan Sarandon and Barbra Streisand should be aware of--is that women have the biggest stake of all in this war.

If Cindy Sheehan wants to honor her son's memory and his heroic sacrifice, then she should quit her grandstanding and speak to the black-robed women in the Middle East. Tell them they have the power to save their children by becoming spies and secret agents. Report information to the coalition forces as to the whereabouts of stored weapons, of where the next explosive device is planted and of where vicious leaders like Abu al Zarqawi are hiding. If your husband is a jihad member, stop him, even if it is as he sleeps.

Turn your hatred of Arab males who started this mess into action and destroy radical leaders like Osama bin Laden. Stop this insane cult.

These women, unlike Cindy Sheehan, would have to be willing to die for their efforts and they probably would, for they live in the most male-dominated society in the world!

The real irony of this whole Cindy Sheehan story is that other family members disagree with her efforts. Her son's grandparents and other relatives have stated that she "appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the expense of her son's good name and reputation."

Her husband, Patrick Sheehan, disagrees with her, too. He is quoted as saying, "I know President Bush is sorry and feels some pain for our loss." "I know he's a man of faith." "I now know he is sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqi people."

That is freedom, Cindy. You can go on doing what you're doing, even though you and your husband disagree. You won't be beheaded in the town square of Vacaville! That's what soldiers like your son are dying for in Iraq.

Dennis Forslund lives in Fairbanks.

What makes a person a patriot?

AFW posted about her stat counter, and I had to jump on the bandwagon. It sounded fun, so I got one, too. She was right--that thing is addictive. It tells you who has been to your page, where they were referred from, etc. Tonight I got one that caused me to think. Someone had typed into a search engine, "What makes a person a patriot?" and my blog was brought up.

The question is worth an answer. I call my blog Politics of a Patriot, but what classifies a true patriot?

When I think of a patriot, I think of Mel Gibson's movie, The Patriot. I have seen this movie in full on one occasion, about a year ago. I tried to watch it recently, but I couldn't stomach it. I remember feeling like I was literally going to throw up and being frantic to turn the site off. In spite of me not being able to watch this, it shows a family of patriots--people who are willing to give thier very lives for their country.

I call my blog Politics of a Patriot. I chose this name because I love politics, and the patriot part, because I love my country.

I suppose it is possible for a person to be patriotic to any country, but it is America and a waving flag I think of when I think of the connotation of the word "patriotic."

Why do I call myself a patriot? I love my country. I love the United States of America. I don't think you have to be in the military to be a patriot and I don't think that if you are in the military it makes you a patriot.

All patriot aren't in the same party. (Alright, I will argue the point that there are no patriots in Nazi Party or Communist Party USA.) But a patriot can be a Democrat or a Republican--I can't believe I just said that--but they still have that one thing that ties them together.

Anyone can say they love America. Few people do.

The dictionary defines the word patriot as one who loves his country, and zealously supports its authority and interests.

I believe a patriot is willing to die for his or her country. A patriot loves freedom and wants to spread freedom, but they do not want to abuse that freedom.

A patriot isn't necessarily American born. I remember reading Michael Yon's column about all of the soldiers he had met who were fighting in the United States military, who are not even citizens of the United States. These are patriots and they're not even citizens yet. We could all learn from these heroic soldiers.

I hope that I live my life in a way that people would describe me as a "patriot." I cannot think of a better name to be called.

Other hits I've gotten from search engines include, but are not limited to:

Funny Monkeys
Rednecks
Overweight Soldiers
JAG Corps Overweight (WHAT IS UP WITH THE OVERWEIGHT THING?)
My head is here but my heart is somewhere else (Whaaat?)

To say that other referrals are inappropriate would be an extreme understatement.

See What You Can Be...

This past week has been Red Ribbon Week. For those of you who aren't familiar with the week-long event, each day has a different anti-drug theme. For example, the first day is "Put a Cap on Drugs" and everyone wears hats. Red Ribbon Week is always on/around Halloween. This year's theme was "See What You Can Be When You Stay Drug Free." Students were to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Personally, I forgot that today we were supposed to dress up as anything. When I arrived at school on this rainy, dreery Halloween, I noticed a half a dozen junior high kids in fatigues/BDU's/whatever you want to call them. One kid was wearing a Kevlar helmet.

Anyway, my point being, out of all the kids that dressed up--which were few, I must admit--the majority were soldiers. I thought that was great. I was even surprised at the little girls I saw dressed as soldiers. Granted, here on the outskirts of Fort Lost in the Woods, a lot of these little girls' mothers are soldiers, but I still thought it was really neat...

That's truly being all that you can be.

While the little kids at my school were wearing daddy's old beret to school, the Pathetic Pinkos are out doing what they have labeled "counter recruitment." Take a look. They are saying they are against the "militarization" of our youth. I would like to know how they think it is POSSIBLE for them to do what they do! It is because there are still "a few good men" (and women!) who are willing to fight for the freedom of those who mock them.

I am proud to say that no recruiter had to beg me or convince me to sign on the dotted line. In fact, I don't even consider myself to be "recruited." I called the recruiter, I went in, I signed the paper, I chose to do so. He didn't convince me of ANYTHING. I know I am not alone in this. There are undoubtedly thousands of other teens and even those older than us who have signed up to fight for our country. I didn't do it for college money, for travel, even for my future political career... I did it because I love America and want to fight for and defend my country.

This youth is proud to be "militarized" and I will be writing the Code Pinks a little letter informing them of such...