No Energy to Post
Sorry, folks. This blog will return in the next couple of days. Maybe tomorrow. I'm too tired.
I should note that Union Station was jam-packed with Catholic schoolgirls today--not in short skirts, but in pro-life sweatshirts. Because today was the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, so there was a big protest. The Catholic school kids--including thousands of teen boys concerned with the abortion issue, apparently--were accompanied by teachers, including nuns, and seemed to come from all over the eastern U.S., anyway. Is this really an appropriate "school outing"? I'm not sure. If teachers, even private school teachers, took their kids to a liberal-leaning protest, wouldn't conservatives blow their stacks?
posted by Number Three @ 8:42 PM
6 Comments:
Catholic schools are a Catholic enterprise. It's an entirely appropriate outing for Catholic students, who are learning, at their parents behest, a particular system of morals.
The C. Lex and I had an interesting argument on this subject the other day. I assert that, despite the obvious political polarization of the issue, abortion is not a liberal or a conservative issue at heart. It is a moral one.
I tend to agree with Stephanie. What's really wrong with this as long as the parents approve and the kids are not being forced to advocate for positions they do not share? Using kids as political props may be bad taste, but both sides do it, and you could make a case that it is good citizenship training.
Eh? I feel I better side with Emery on this one, in order to balance things out. tmcd's rhetorical question sounds really good, but in response I'll ask my own: do 14 year-old boys really know what political positions they advocate?
And perhaps abortion *should* be a moral issue (perhaps), but in the US today it is an utterly political one.
And Emery is right: if a group of school kids (even private school kids, say from some gronola hippy private high school in Vermont) showed up in DC to defend equal marriage rights...it would be ALL OVER conservative media has the most horrendous thing since Michael Moore.
And since this is the comments, I'll go out on a limb: I think the political right in the US gets a pass on all sorts of things because of religious associations. A variety of political action is deemedd acceptable for the right to do and unnacceptable for the left to do, precisely because of the imaginary or real links to religion. The left should invent their own religion.
Sam, another rhetorical question: in retrospect, was it OK when black parents put their children on the front lines of the desegregation cause, taking not only a political stand but also a physical risk? I approve of that one, so I'm not sure how I can begrudge the pro-lifers their sweatshirts.
I'll also take up your question: "do 14 year-old boys really know what political positions they advocate?" Sure they do. I had political positions when I was 14, some good and some bad, and I bet you did too. But there's no reason you can't be a 14-year old activist and then change your mind later and become either apolitical or something radically different. Same goes for people at all stages of their lives. What's the big deal, especially if this is law-abiding advocacy? I will proudly take the position that free speech applies to 14-year olds, even those who may be being manipulated by their parents.
Although I know that I'm just asking for a condescending answer from Tmd, I must ask whether or not these students had a real option of not attending the rally? Based on Emery's posting, it was on a school day, and it is a Catholic school...so I'm wondering how easy is it for a Catholic student not to attend the rally? This is a messy affair, given the pressure involved from the school and possibly the good Catholic parents. My guess--the students thought it'd be a fun field trip. And for all of these reasons, it seems a bit different to me than desegregation. Tmd, do be kind to my attempt at a first posting.
Sam, let's not forget about the young woman who spoke for John Kerry during the campaign. She was a media darling.
Lips, whether or not a Catholic student attends an out-of-school activity depends on whether his or her parent signs a permission slip. It is a family decision.
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