By now you’ve probably heard of Daniel Morales, the 2nd grader from Tiogue School in Coventry whose patriotic cap — with a flag and toy soldiers glued to it — was found in violation of the school’s no weapons policy because the toy soliders held teeny weapons. He was told that he could wear the hat only if the soldiers with weapons were removed from his hat. Kudos to Lt. Gen. Reginald Centracchio for pointing out that “the American soldier is armed. That’s why they’re called the armed forces. If you’re going to portray it any other way, you miss the point.”While the Coventry School Department has since reversed its decision in the face of widespread criticism, the truth is that this is symptomatic of a growing disrespect for the military and its veterans.
While we ask more and more of our men and women in uniform, we do less and less to support them. We’re sending our ARMED forces to fight two wars and yet school administrators recoil at a child’s expression of patriotism. Although it was months ago, it still burns me that President Obama barely gave mention to these wars in his State of the Union address and more recently skipped Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery. We can’t allow the “fish to rot from the head down.”
We need to honor our veterans and thank our men and women in uniform every chance we get. Thank you Daniel for showing us how.
Tags: Coventry, Daniel Morales, no weapons policy, veterans
