Today, January 15, 2011, in a high school auditorium, a small Colorado community hosted the first annual “Proud to be an American” award ceremony, founded and organized by the Korean War veterans chapter number 195.
The award recipient was high school student Jeremy Stoppel. He and his family were honored for an act of patriotism exhibited by Jeremy last September. It seemed that two American flags on his truck offended someone in the high school parking lot and a school official ordered the flags removed. Jeremy refused.
In the days and weeks following, the school principal apologized in writing and sent a letter to all students and parents promising that such a thing would not happen again. Students would exhibit the American flags on school property without persecution.
The “Proud to be an American” award signifies that we cannot and should not be bullied by any group or individual who tries to invoke “unofficial political correctness” on the grounds that exhibition of patriotism is “offensive.” America was founded on free speech, but it appears that in recent years we have hit a stumbling block.
Our towns and cities are the core of the American spirit. As such they are often the places where ordinary citizens can do extraordinary things–such as help to stem the tide of political correctness run amuck. Apparently some well-meaning officials in our public schools and elsewhere seem to have lost one of the most basic traits of our founding citizens: common sense.
We need to regain the freedoms jepordized by political correctness before we lose the basic principles on which this country was founded. Look for the next annual “Proud to be an American” award ceremony. Who knows: It might catch on across the country.
