Letters to the Editor 10-22-15

Patriotism
Editor: Over the course of US history, immigrants from over fifty other countries have moved to the United States for numerous different reasons. For many, the US provides a safe place for religious expression; an environment with better working conditions; a valuable education for their children. This ethnically and racially diverse society is what makes the United States so beautiful, but there is one thing among all of these existing disparities, one thing that unites all of these divergent people. We are all citizens of the United States of America, and we should be allowed to publicly display our patriotism. At Windsor High School, we express our school spirit through rallies, football games, dances and spirit weeks. In particular, during spirit week, there is a specific theme to dress for each day. Mirroring the patriotism that we feel in our hearts and see in the world around us, the student body suggested a patriotic day: a day to wear red, white and blue in expression of our love for the great nation in which we reside. However, this suggestion was immediately shut down by the school board who claimed that this statement of American patriotism was discriminatory of other races of whom have immigrated to the US. I wonder; in what world is it wrong to express support for your nation at your school? I wonder; how is it possible that we have become so terrified of not being politically correct, that we have completely turned our backs on the idea of national loyalty. We sing the national anthem at each rally and sports game. We pledge our allegiance to the American flag. So, I wonder; why are our rights of expressing our patriotism in the simple yet powerful form of clothing being taken away? Immigrants have come to the United Stated to live in the United States, and to allow for the fear of offensiveness to counteract the freedom of patriotism that we have striven for centuries for, is inherently un-American.
Courtney McDowell Windsor