[quote=Arraya][quote=eavesdropper]
It’s time for the madness and polarization to stop, and EVERYBODY needs to man-up! ].[/quote]

you better pray to god the economy gets better. history is pretty clear on what happens with “tribal” mentality in times of economic duress. During the first depression they were rounding up minorities and lynching or deporting them. The gov actually had to make protective camps for migrant workers so the could work without getting harmed. The “progressive gene” only survives in an environment of affluence. Liberals are caught up in a “multicultural” fantasy narrative of progress that was a blip on the larger historical time scale.

With that said. National, ethnic and religious pride are all closely related psychological conditions born out of some primal survival instinct and cultivated over time. Whatever emotions compelled these kids to show “pride” on that day is the what the teachers feared and tried, in an inappropriate manner, to stop. *A* reaction to the situation was completely understandable because they feared conflict. We should all fear it, if economic deterioration continues.[/quote]

What compelled these students to demonstrate “pride” on May 5 was that they were excluded (I believe, unconsciously) via an action that was the result of policy designed to be inclusionary. I think that the administrators, in an effort to make Hispanic students think that the school was aware of their presence and sensitive to their culture, set up this dress code as part of observance of Cinco de Mayo. Instead of saying to the student body as a whole “In respect for the cultural heritage of your fellow students, we will observe Cinco de Mayo”, they essentially said, “On May 5th, you cannot demonstrate any sign that you take pride in being an American.” This appears to me to be the equivalent of waving a red blanket in front of a bull. The only thing that’s shocking to me is that the administration did not anticipate how some non-Hispanic students would react to the dress code.

All of the Live Oak students are playing the administrators like skilled musicians. The Hispanic students are claiming that they are being irreparably harmed by separation from their culture, and the non-Hispanic students are insisting that they are being forcibly denied their rights to show their patriotism. Bullshit! It’s your basic high school power struggle, grown out of playground disputes, and destined to last long into adulthood. The students have learned well from their elders – throw the correct carefully selected words or phrases into the dispute, and it moves a schoolyard fight into the arena of human rights (and squarely into the sights of a hungry press).

You’re right – we should be very concerned about the possibility (probability?) of further economic deterioration. Because as a nation, we have been reduced to a tribal mentality. Civil discourse is rapidly becoming a memory. We are dividing ourselves before any economic condition, any natural disaster, any other country can do it for us. “Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. ”