So, it seems that two girls who were then sophomores in high school, took advantage of the summer break in 2009 and posted lewd photos of themselves on their MySpace pages. The principal of the school did not suspend them, but he did prohibit them from participating in school sports for one year.
The girls and their parents, aided by the ACLU, sued the school and the principal saying that the principal's action had violated the girls' civil rights under the First Amendment.
I don't agree with the assertion. The exercise of any right or privilege is never free from consequences.
Let me try to draw an analogy. We can try to stick with the First Amendment issue.
The supreme law of the land says that congress shall not make any law restricting the practice of religion. Therefore, if I define my religion as one that includes - for the sake of keeping this tasteful - stealing a Snickers candy bar every Tuesday at 3pm, the law cannot keep me from practicing my religion. However, practicing my religion will very likely yield a consequence that I cannot avoid. I will probably be arrested and convicted for shoplifting. The idea that my religion holds shoplifting as one of its tenets does not change the natural consequences that will follow exercising my First Amendment right. But has the state violated my civil rights?
Likewise, congress shall not make any law restricting the freedom of speech. Therefore, if I choose to dress in Klan regalia and walk through Watts, California shouting racial slurs at 9 o' clock on a Friday night, there will likely be a consequence that follows exercising my right of expression. Will my civil rights be violated, or will I simply prove Darwin's theory of natural selection?
Courts have interpreted this freedom or right to include art and symbols. If I choose to post photos of myself smoking dope and burning an American flag while participating in a rally supporting the Communist Party of the USA, I am free under the Constitution to do that. If a prospective employer who is a McCarthy-ite sees those photos while preparing to interview me for a job, I cannot control the consequences of my choices. I will probably not be offered the job. The result will not be a violation of my civil rights; it will be a natural consequence of that individual evaluating the quality of my personal judgement through the prism of his or her personal value system.
So, did this high school principal in Indiana violate the girls' civil rights in 2009? NO! That's a ridiculous assertion.
First of all, he did not restrict their freedom of expression. Second of all, he did not prohibit them from coming back to his school to continue their publicly funded education. And thirdly, he did not humiliate or demean the girls in any way - they did that all by themselves. The principal did restrict them from participating in school sports for the year following their exhibition of poor judgement and low regard of self. But there is no right, civil or otherwise, that any American has to participate in school sports. If there were, schools across the country would find themselves afoul of the ACLU and the Supreme Court when they cut athletics programs in order to balance their budgets.
We have, as a people, allowed ourselves to become so "open minded" that our collective brain seems to have fallen out.
The girls and their parents, aided by the ACLU, sued the school and the principal saying that the principal's action had violated the girls' civil rights under the First Amendment.
I don't agree with the assertion. The exercise of any right or privilege is never free from consequences.
Let me try to draw an analogy. We can try to stick with the First Amendment issue.
The supreme law of the land says that congress shall not make any law restricting the practice of religion. Therefore, if I define my religion as one that includes - for the sake of keeping this tasteful - stealing a Snickers candy bar every Tuesday at 3pm, the law cannot keep me from practicing my religion. However, practicing my religion will very likely yield a consequence that I cannot avoid. I will probably be arrested and convicted for shoplifting. The idea that my religion holds shoplifting as one of its tenets does not change the natural consequences that will follow exercising my First Amendment right. But has the state violated my civil rights?
Likewise, congress shall not make any law restricting the freedom of speech. Therefore, if I choose to dress in Klan regalia and walk through Watts, California shouting racial slurs at 9 o' clock on a Friday night, there will likely be a consequence that follows exercising my right of expression. Will my civil rights be violated, or will I simply prove Darwin's theory of natural selection?
Courts have interpreted this freedom or right to include art and symbols. If I choose to post photos of myself smoking dope and burning an American flag while participating in a rally supporting the Communist Party of the USA, I am free under the Constitution to do that. If a prospective employer who is a McCarthy-ite sees those photos while preparing to interview me for a job, I cannot control the consequences of my choices. I will probably not be offered the job. The result will not be a violation of my civil rights; it will be a natural consequence of that individual evaluating the quality of my personal judgement through the prism of his or her personal value system.
So, did this high school principal in Indiana violate the girls' civil rights in 2009? NO! That's a ridiculous assertion.
First of all, he did not restrict their freedom of expression. Second of all, he did not prohibit them from coming back to his school to continue their publicly funded education. And thirdly, he did not humiliate or demean the girls in any way - they did that all by themselves. The principal did restrict them from participating in school sports for the year following their exhibition of poor judgement and low regard of self. But there is no right, civil or otherwise, that any American has to participate in school sports. If there were, schools across the country would find themselves afoul of the ACLU and the Supreme Court when they cut athletics programs in order to balance their budgets.
We have, as a people, allowed ourselves to become so "open minded" that our collective brain seems to have fallen out.
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1 comments:
Very well said.
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