The NDN Electronic Commentators were having quite a time today slapping each others' backs over the imposition of dress code sanctions on GGHS students who dressed in business suits instead of the mandated polo shirt and pants. Some wrote: "When I was younger, I listened to my elders, now kids don't." and "The dress code imposed at the schools is not unreasonable." Fight on folks! Nothing like a good dogfight. Ask Michael Vick. It seems like the surviving Nazis from WWII have taken over America and now have children and grandchildren who make the rules; as in days of yore, the commoners obey them without question. Immigration, driving, sartorial, NCLB, smoking, seat belts, club rules, Roberts rules of order, debating rules, church rules, association rules, rules for elevator dress and behavior, we even have rules for bedroom decorum and eating, i.e., don't consume foods rich in cholesterol or trans fats! We can scarcely get through the day without disobeying some things some authority has determined are the paths we must follow. Some drivers never, ever exceed the speed limit, but they doubtless misbehave in other ways. And we watch with voyeuristic pleasure when the offenders are caught and punished. If individuality, self-esteem, independent thought, conscience and privacy are sacred American traditions, it sometimes becomes a duty for a person to commit civil disobedience. Sometimes teenagers, especially rule-defying ones, can teach us grown-ups something important about our culture. However bad the characters of these GGHS overdressers, they sure got our attention with what seems like a difficult thing to complain about. Pope Benedict beatified Franz Jaggerstatter this year. I wonder who twisted his arm? Surely not Ave Maria's Father Joseph Fessio, a Jesuit who's taken a vow to obey the Pope. So all you law-abiding citizens listen to this song: laws were made by people and people can be wrong [credit Ann Feeney]. Even West Pointers fight on opposite sides. Grant vs. Lee! What a dogfight that was! Will Voldemort or Dumbledore ultimately win? Evil vs. Good. (Teach4life2006 wrote back: Dresscode is Dresscode. Obey or pay the price) ____________ Definitely pay the price. Disobedience costs whatever the penalty, a penalty which true followers of the duty of conscience accept, however reluctantly, however unjust. Thoreau had to do time in jail thinking that penalty was more acceptable than supporting the War Against Mexico with his taxes. Of course this does not mean that dress-Nazis carry the day. What are we going to do if the numbers of dressup protests grow? What if these kids are leading a significant number of our community members who refuse to dress according to code? If these sartorial-enforcement folks believe that schools are here to pass on the sacred American ideals of individuality, self-esteem, independent thought, conscience and privacy, then they should humbly accept that "the child is father to the man." Whatever happened to students first? We're supposed to educate our kids, not put them in jail [Ann Feeney again]. Nazis have no place in America and are far more detrimental to our way of life than illegal aliens or even Saudis. Change the laws rather than make everyone a criminal. Isn't it unconstitutional to force public school students to wear a uniform? This could cost us more than paying two Superintendents at the same time. For a parent with enough money and high principles, this is a case for the Supreme Court. _____________ Dress-Nazis: is this about student appearance, security on campus, good learning environment? Or is it about ego? Students must submit to authority, no matter what the authorities come up with? Doesn't it matter even slightly that the adults in this world they are entering have totally forgone their moral authority? Look at what you have done to Iraq. Look at what you have done to democracy. Every teen in America should see this video and listen to its song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mprsqx2VT8M&mode=related&search And the adults should shut up. They've allowed it all to happen--in a representative democracy. They have no moral authority to stand upon. Their strong and loud opinions on everything under the sun are sinful, damning, like rats' feet over broken glass. Ego: I'm President and you're not so I get to make the rules and you get to obey them. Trickles down doesn't it?