Lucas Andrew

In life there is no position greater than that of raising a child. The duties set forth in this position are of great gravity. Our actions will forever be remembered as the path these children should follow. In adulthood they will do so with confidence or blindly with shame.

Every day, we the community go to the stores and continue on with our business enjoying the fruits of the blood of our fathers. They fought and died for these rights. My grandfather along with many others were in WW2 fighting for the very rights I speak of today. Simple rights, rights granted to us not by the existence of authority, but instead given to us by God through the gift of life.

We as patriotic Americans see ourselves as willing to do the same; sadly, I’m afraid we will not. It’s easy to buy your groceries for dinner, or talk to your friends downtown. Taking for granted our ability to not fear if you left your mask at home. This is your right and you can do so without fear of oppression. If someone questions you, you can go somewhere else without fear of actions taken against you.

These simple things are fundamental aspects of dignity granted to all people regardless of position or color. Simple respect for humankind that is expected to permeate throughout a free society. Today we are faced with these simple rights being stripped from our children. We as community members, fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends go through our daily lives, knowing these simple rights are guaranteed while our children are being stripped of them.

As we see daily, the empathy of the community condemns horrible actions against helpless beings such as pets. There is no excuse for muzzling a helpless animal, unable to fight for itself. Today our legislature banters about the dignity of livestock in our farms. Fighting for the rights of a “living being” to a fruitful existence untainted by the injustice of oppression.

While we debate the dignity of oppressed livestock and the rights of sheep, our children are watching this, heartbroken. They are unable to speak because they themselves have been muzzled… by us. They are watching haunted by the threat they may at any point be caught unmuzzled and removed from class, or denied and isolated from their sports games or scholastic activities.

How can we as their home community allow this to continue? Telling our children their rights are only given when a teacher or principal grants them? Are we so lazy as to allow the forced conformity of our youth?

I wonder how history would have changed if Harriet Tubman had succumbed to her oppressors and died a slave in servitude. Will we allow the leaders of our schools to utilize oppression as a tool to shadow the rights of our helpless children? How, as a community, can we send our young men to fight oppression abroad when we have not rid ourselves of it at home? Is there no dignity for children today? Is it OK to allow others to utilize fear to force covering the face of our beautiful children?

I am disgusted with our community for allowing this injustice perpetrated and cloaked in the color of office and law. We are teaching our children that there is no dignity or sovereignty in humanity unless granted by those who would oppress it. We tell our children they can be anything they want. Sadly, that’s only true if they cover their faces in shame first.