That's the beauty of the U.S. Constitution -- though widely thought to protect the interests of the majority, it actually was designed to protect the interests of each of us as individuals.
Protect us from whom? you might ask. From each other, of course. And from our government.
So when I hear that a father -- in this case, William Boyer -- filed a lawsuit against the West Shore School District on behalf of his minor son, a middle-school student, for violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, I'm immediately curious.
It seems the young student -- identified only as "E.B." in the federal lawsuit -- had the audacity to wear a T-shirt to school on Tuesday, Sept. 8, with a message printed on the front that said, "Abortion is not Healthcare."
Although E.B. wore the T-shirt without notice for at least half of the school day, it eventually caught the notice of his fifth-period teacher, who sent the boy to the principal's office for clarification of the district rules on such matters.
The principal apparently figured the message violated the school's policies on dress and student expression and sent him to the nurse's office to change shirts. Or, in the event he didn't have a second shirt, to turn the shirt he was wearing
And that's what the young man did.
For the record, I happen to disagree with the young man's message -- abortion, as a medical procedure, must indeed be healthcare.
But I still support E.B.'s right to express his opinion -- as long as it is his opinion and not his father's opinion -- in almost any way he sees fit.
The T-shirt does not bother me at all, whether it's worn at home, in church or at school, behind closed doors or in the public square. It certainly does not offend me, even though I disagree with it.
Still, this might be a good time to point out to William Boyer that there are plenty of places in this country where the wearing of that particular T-shirt would not have been welcome or appropriate.
For example, had I worn that T-shirt to work that day, I'd have been asked to immediately remove it, turn it inside-out or go home. I work in a newspaper office where we hold nearly sacred freedom of speech, yet we do not permit the wearing of clothing or buttons or adorn our vehicles with bumper stickers that bear political messages.
And no matter what anyone says, "Abortion is not Healthcare" is a political message, certainly as political as "Obama for President," which also would not have been allowed.
I know why we do it -- to maintain neutrality when we cover political events -- and so I abide by it.
Frankly, I'm not so sure any T-shirt message, except one with religious content (separation of church and state), as long as it isn't sexual, racial or profane, is sufficiently troublesome that it should be censored in a public school. What's the worst that could happen? People disagree, and debate on the subject is the result. In my opinion, that's a good thing.
So I worry that school districts -- a government body in nearly every respect -- feel free to censor almost anything that doesn't have a Disney face on it. I don't wonder why they do it -- I know why. They worry about being sued by parents who don't want little Johnny's and Susie's feelings hurt or their minds expanded. Avoid controversy at all costs.
Hey, didn't we just go through the same nonsense here in York County last month -- it was the very same day, in fact, that E.B. wore his T-shirt to school (talk about coincidences) -- when President Barack Obama wanted to speak to public school children via TV?
Some local districts chose to censor the speech; some banned it altogether.
So I'll ask again: What are school districts so afraid of?
There is, however, one thing that troubles me about this lawsuit -- in fact, it troubles me every time I see parents using their young children to promote their own political agendas. I find it offensive when parents shove protest signs into the hands of tiny children, who have no clue what they're protesting, or when parents draft their children to walk a picket line when they know darn well the child has no idea why they're picketing.
E.B., a middle-school student, is probably 11 to 13 years of age. And I suspect the average child that age is not so tuned in to any political cause -- abortion, healthcare, free speech or the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution -- that he would, on his own, choose to wear an "Abortion is not Healthcare" T-shirt to school.
I doubt that a typical 11- to 13-year-old would buy such a T-shirt, either.
I hope I'm wrong in E.B.'s case.
Because if I knew for certain that William Boyer was using his middle-school son to promote his own political, religious or personal agendas, it would rub me the wrong way.
Then I'd have to ask out loud if Boyer was suing the school district to protect his son's First Amendment rights ... or his own, using his son as the walking billboard?
Columns by Larry A. Hicks, Dispatch columnist, run Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. E-mail: lhicks@yorkdispatch.com.
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