From Arizona to Morgan Hill

I don’t know enough about Arizona’s immigration law to be able to write about it intelligently, but I do know that it has inflamed volatile nationalistic passions. It is possible that these passions prompted a number of students in Morgan Hill, Ca. to arrive at Live Oak High School on May 5 wearing patriotic clothes. Whatever the motivation, that act prompted a moronic decision by the school’s administrators to order the students to remove or hide the patriotic markings or go home. It has become a national sensation, and I fear the basic issue here has been lost.

Let’s start off by pointing out that I am not a big flag waver. I believe that nationalism is a pernicious evil that divides people and has been at the root of some of the most monstrous cruelty ever perpetrated in the world. Further, God’s Kingdom transcends national boundaries. Christ came to save the lost of all nations, and God’s plan of salvation has always included people from all races. So if the intent of the immigration law is to reserve blessings for some who by accident of birth were born on one side of an arbitrary line and deny it to others who were not, in principle I oppose that.

But the incident at Live Oak High School, though perhaps linked emotionally to the immigration law, in the end turns on a different issue altogether. The students who wore American flags to school were exercising a right that is guaranteed and protected by the U.S. Constitution. The right to free expression is sacred because so many have sacrificed and died to preserve it. Even if the intent of wearing the patriotic attire was to offend, the right to do so is still inviolate. The constitution does not protect you from being offended, but it does protect your right to free expression.

It has been said but bears repeating that 5 May is not a widely celebrated holiday in Mexico. It is a patriotic holiday observed in much the same way D-Day might be observed in the United States. The great national celebration of independence takes place on September 16. In recent years 5 May has become popular in the United States because any excuse for a party, it would seem, will do. But in the United States it has become a perverted and commercialized event, not substantially different from drinking green beer on St. Patrick’s Day.

Nevertheless, if one wants to use the celebration as a basis for expressing pride in one’s heritage, why not? Mexico has a rich heritage and Americans of Mexican descent have much to be proud of. Why is it not possible to celebrate that heritage without at the same time acknowledging the blessings of freedom inherent in U.S. citizenship? If the students of Mexican descent are U.S. citizens, why are they offended by the display of the U.S. flag? This is where multi-culturalism is taken to a ridiculous extreme, where instead of celebrating the strength of unity to be found in diversity, it divides and makes our differences a source of discord and weakness. Rather than being offended by the display of heritage symbols, we should all rejoice at the liberty that allows each of us freedom of expression.