Speaking Out Against Banning Expression

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"A student whose protected expression is stifled suffers an injury that cannot be undone."
- U.S. 3rd Circuit Court

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."
- George Washington

"It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate."
- U.S. Supreme Court

"One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Speech codes are disfavored under the First Amendment because of their tendency to silence or interfere with protected speech."
- U.S. 3rd Circuit Court

"Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. It is the hallmark of an authoritarian regime..."
- Justice Potter Stewart

"In our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression."
- U.S. Supreme Court

"We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The Supreme Court has held time and again, both within and outside of the school context, that the mere fact that someone might take offense at the content of speech is not sufficient justification for prohibiting it."
- U.S. 3rd Circuit Court

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
- John F. Kennedy

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it."
- Mark Twain

"The mere fact that expressive activity causes hurt feelings, offense, or resentment does not render the expression unprotected."
- U.S. Supreme Court

May God open the eyes of these administrators to the wisdom of our Founders and the majesty of our system of guaranteed rights; turn them away from their path of censorship of expression, denigration of a cultural heritage and marginalization of a group; and restore to our schools the philosophy that they are to be places of learning, places to celebrate our freedoms as well as understand the responsibilities that come with them and places to prepare our children for the responsibility of protecting our freedoms in the courtroom, at the ballot box and, if need be, at the battlefield.

Confederate Flag Bans in PA Schools

Three high schools within our Commonwealth have made the misguided decision to ban the Confederate flag. I encourage all members of the Pennsylvania Division, the SCV, the larger Southern heritage community and all lovers of the liberties and rights protected by the Constitution of the United States to contact these schools and encourage them to change their policy regarding our venerable symbols.

The issue of the display of Confederate symbols is often one that is emotionally charged. These venerable symbols of one side of the most defining struggles of this country's history have become abused by a tiny minority of crackpots who also defame the flag of this great nation and the symbols of Christianity. Those of us who revere Confederate symbols for the historical value and expression of heritage they represent, join with all good and decent Americans in the abhorrence of the actions and beliefs of those misguided people.

We would not ban our children from displaying 'Old Glory' or from being able to wear a cross while in school, despite the fact that those who spread hate do so under those symbols. We should also not ban Confederate symbols indiscriminately simply because they too are used by those same lunatics. Within our schools, we must make sure not only that our children are safe, but also that they learn to become good citizens of this nation.

The children of today are indeed the leaders of tomorrow and the educators of the next generation. We cannot allow them to become a new generation of bigots or excuse-makers nor can we teach them that silencing the free expression of ideas is the solution to avoiding or resolving conflict. The answer is not less speech, but rather more and better directed speech. Let them speak their minds and then correct their misconceptions. Let them express themselves, but then punish those who abuse that privilege on a case by case basis.

It is not really a matter of free speech, racial tension, methods of punishment or any of the other causes and outcomes. It is, above all, a matter of education. What lesson will you teach these children? Will it be a lesson that helps them learn how to work together to solve problems or a lesson that teaches them to ban free expression and bury their misconceptions in public, letting them fester into a new wave of bigotry?

Those few students who abuse these symbols to spread a message of hate should be dealt with firmly, as we cannot allow that behavior to stand in our schools. Equally, those who display these symbols for historical or heritage reasons should not be banned from that expression simply for the misdeeds and abuses of others. We would not ban Islamic children from displaying the Crescent simply because some deranged foreign terrorists abuse it for their purposes. We should not ban the Southern Cross simply because some deranged domestic terrorists abuse it for their purposes.

A school is a place of learning, not a place for the suppression of ideas. It is the duty of our educators to teach our children and not to enforce stereotypes of any kind against any group of people or any symbols. If we all work together and have free and open dialog, without prejudging anyone or anything, we can learn to overcome the lingering social problems of this nation; problems that often are left undealt with in the name of avoiding conflict. That is not the answer and all the lessons of history teach us that banning an idea, a symbol or a group does not eliminate the problem; it strengthens it. Education and equality are the solution. We should expect no less in our schools.

Please contact these schools and express your feelings about this issue:

Schuylkill Valley High School - Principal Mr. David J. Haughney - dhaughney@schuylkillvalley.org
Shippensburg Area High School - Principal Dr. Fred Shilling - Fred.Shilling@ship.k12.pa.us
Yough High School - Principal Mr. Earl Thompson - Thompsoe@yough.K12.PA.US

Below, you will find in the comments section, a collection of letters/posts I have submitted related to this issue.