Sometime during the week following September 11th, my school decided that on some given day (forget which one), all the freshmen should wear white, the sophomores, red, the juniors, blue, and the seniors, all three. People didn’t give any thought to why they were doing this. They just did. Head to toe. It became this unspoken contest to see who could outdo his or her peers with the amount of red, white, and blue he/she could wear. Idiocy.

Today, October 11th, I saw two guys wearing the American flag as a toga, with their hair dyed with three different colors of spray on dye. I’d bet that both would be hard pressed to remember all the words to the National Anthem. Someone at Cooper City High School got the bright idea to form a human flag on the football field, with students dressed in red, white, and blue forming the stars and stripes.

What was the purpose of this little exercise? Was it a fundraiser? A memorial? Nobody explained – not the Key Club who organized it, or the administration who allowed it to take place. Also, for some reason, it was made MANDATORY. Forced patriotism. Lovely. Remember that, it will come up later.

I asked my fourth period teacher (the period in which this particularly pointless little activity was to take place) what the purpose of the whole thing was. Her answer boiled down to (and it was pretty simple to begin with) “Do as you’re told, it doesn’t matter why we’re doing it…why do you care so much, anyways?” I explained that just as I would never sign a contract without reading it first, I refused to participate unless the reason for this activity was explained to me. Participation equals support, and I refuse to support something I know nothing about. My teacher would not answer my questions. She repeatedly told me it didn’t matter, that I should just do it, that it was a class assignment, and again and again, asking why I cared, anyways. So now, we have forced patriotism and an uninformed public. Is this starting to sound familiar?

I pressed the issue, and finally, my teacher threatened me with internal suspension if I did not simply comply with her orders and participate in the activity. Once again, I ask, does this sound familiar? Let’s tall it up, shall we? We have a belief (patriotism) being forced on an uninformed public, by an authority figure unwilling to answer any questions, which issues threats of punishment against any who question them. Someone must have played a trick on me, I seem to have been transported to Afghanistan when I wasn’t looking.

I am certain that these are not values that should be associated with the American flag. Eventually, other students in my class told me that the entire purpose of the event was for the human flag to be photographed and filmed by the media. It was a publicity stunt, to gather attention for the school. It was capitalizing on the patriotic fervor sweeping the country, and the deaths of all those in the World Trade Center. It was a mockery of patriotism, pure and simple.