LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
That’s a direct quote from the Constitution of the United States of America – the First Amendment, to be precise. They’re good words. And they mean something. They’re what sets our nation apart from so many others.
Or at least they did. Unfortunately, people in positions of high power, people who took a solemn oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, appear to have reneged on that oath. Somehow, they think they can pick and choose from the among the sections of the Constitution that they will “preserve, protect, and defend.”
To those folks, I’d say, “That’s not how it works, Donald. That’s not how it works, Greg. It’s all or nothing. And if following through on your oath is somehow beyond your ability, or something you feel you have outgrown – something you’re too big to bother with – then it’s time to think about a new career path. If that’s the case, as it appears to be, I’d be happy to refer you to some excellent career counselors who can help you with that.”
How did we get here? Actually, there are quite a few roads that led us to where we are today. I’ll start with one of the most recent. It involved an anti-ICE demonstration in Minnesota, a peaceful protest turned into a deadly assault by federal agents – agents who also took the oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. But what they did, with the blessing of their higher-ups, was to deny the protection of the Constitution to the very people who were exercising the rights it guarantees them.
But let’s move ahead a few weeks. To Texas. Right here in Hays County.
Just a few days ago, students from Moe and Gene Johnson High School in Buda held their own anti-ICE demonstration. They walked out of class and gathered in downtown Kyle, where they peacefully made their concerns known. While two minors were arrested, Kyle police made it clear that those arrests were unrelated to the demonstration.
That, however, wasn’t good enough for Governor Greg Abbott. Feeling the confidence that can only come from amassing a reelection campaign war chest of an unprecedented $106 million, Abbott decided that the sky was falling. “Criminal behavior,” he shrieked! “Chaos!” “No immunity” for schools and staff he described as “co-conspirators.”
To that I’d say, Easy, Greg. Sit down. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. The world isn’t ending and the sky isn’t falling. Let me explain a few things to you.
Cutting class isn’t criminal behavior. It may violate school attendance policy. But to call it criminal behavior? Not hardly.
A famous judge once said that a district attorney could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. Maybe that’s true; I haven’t fully researched that issue. Even so, I find it hard to believe that a grand jury would indict what, in this case, I’d refer to as “Greg Abbott’s Grand Theory of the Illegal Ham Sandwich.”
And demonstrating on Center Street in Kyle? With all due respect, Greg, all the reports I’ve read indicate that the situation, both in Buda and Kyle, was being monitored by the Buda Police Department, the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, and the Kyle Police Department. You may call it chaos, but I’m reasonably certain that local law enforcement would disagree. Their stated concern was traffic and safety. They did an admirable job in that respect, and I thank them for it.
SEE SPEECH AND OATH PAGE 9 I think, too, that you may have gone way over the top, Greg. Threatening school funding because students left their classes for a few hours to express their disapproval of a government policy? Somehow you equate that with the school’s abandonment of its duties to teach our kids the curriculum required by law? A few hours outside the classroom on a single day is going to undermine Johnson High School’s ability to do that? Get real, Greg!
The students got a reallife civics lesson – something they could never have experienced from reading about it in a textbook or sitting through a classroom lesson. They stood up, in real time, for something they believe in – even if you do not.
The Hays CISD made it abundantly clear that “It is not void of understanding the current climate in the country and can respect that some students may feel compelled to exercise their constitutional rights to free speech and expression.” The District was also clear that there could be individual disciplinary consequences for violating school policy.
The students understand that. It reflects a level of commitment and maturity on their part, despite the hectoring and threatening and blustering of their governor.
Then there’s this: you, Governor Abbott, were quick to condemn the students for their action. Yet, as I write this, more than 24 hours after the arrest of a 43-year-old MAGA-hatted Kyle resident for assaulting a young student protestor, the only thing we hear from your office is the sound of silence.
It seems that the voices of Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights when objecting to a particular action or policy of their government are somehow found wanting and, in fact, improper by some elected officials sworn to uphold those rights. And those same officials ignore the violent efforts of individuals seeking to suppress those rights.
You cannot have it both ways. The oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States is not conditional. You can disagree. You can work for change. But you cannot pick and choose. And if you cannot honor the terms of your oath, honor demands that you relinquish your title and your duties.
Sincerely, Jon Leonard San Marcos
