A friend shared the following cartoon on Facebook. At first pass, I thought I would hit the “like” button but the more I thought about it, the more the cartoon bothered me.
I could point out the obvious contempt the seated boy is showing for the flag and the Pledge. He may have the right to remain seated but one might expect him to do so in a manner that is not disrespectful. His body language says “I won’t and you can’t make me!” It also seems to say “I don’t care about the Pledge!” But let’s not focus there.
What jumps out at me here is what the teacher says. She points out to the boy that he has the right to not stand. She’s OK so far. She then goes on to contrast the boy’s situation to that of the Marine—who cannot stand. He was defending the boy’s right to not stand as well as many other rights that we as Americans enjoy.
And therein is the problem. We also have the right to not be intimidated into doing something because of someone else’s defense of the rights we have. The teacher appears to be trying to intimidate Kevin into standing by presenting the Marine. I come to that conclusion because she’s using a contrasting statement: “your right… but let me… who can’t...”
The response most of us would expect is that the boy is shamed into standing when confronted by this Marine. And that would be the travesty here.
You see, Kevin has the right to not stand for the Pledge. He also has the right to not be intimidated into doing what the rest of the class is doing, as well as to not be intimidated by the teacher into doing something she wants him to do despite his objections.
We have the right to freedom of religion, and should not be intimidated into going to church because a soldier, airman, or Marine gave his/her life defending our rights. We have the right to free speech—as I’m exercising here—but that doesn’t mean we should chastise those who do not blog. I believe we have the right to not be intimidated or shamed into violating our conscience just because someone sacrificed to defend that right. To do otherwise is to acknowledge that right and at the same time surrender it.
Kevin even has the right to be disrespectful. And I would like to think that in this 2012 America, his parents retain the right to discipline him and teach him some respect. The teacher’s job is to teach him math, reading, writing, etc.
