The United States is in a troubling place. As natural disasters devastate the pacific southwestern region of the nation as well as Florida, the economy remains volatile, illegal migration into the nation continues at a record pace and inflation remains at a decade’s level high. On top of all these problems foreign adversaries, emboldened by the incompetent and weak leadership of President Joe Biden and his administration continue to take aggressive stances in international political affairs. Back in the domestic sphere, in schools across the nation a cultural battle continues to rage, pitting patriotic, traditional families who cherish their rights to parental authority over their children and free speech against progressive educators and public officials who seek to limit them. In one school in Colorado, a middle school student was told he would not be allowed to display the Gadsden Flag on his backpack, as it was a symbol of “racism”.
In an appalling disregard for the American revolution and the founding history of the United States, school officials claimed that the flag had its origins in the “slave trade”. This could not be further from the truth. The flag was designed at the start of the conflict as a symbol against British tyranny, displaying the words “Don’t Tread on Me”- a direct message geared towards the crown which infringed on the liberties of the American colonists. The snake was adopted in correlation with an earlier piece of art created by Benjamin Franklin during the French and Indian war. That piece, which displayed a cut up snake featuring the initials of the American colonies above the words “Join or Die”, was used by Franklin to unify colonial support for the British colonial conflict against France.
Thankfully, following a statement from the governor of Colorado and threats of a first amendment lawsuit, the school backed down, and will allow the student, a seventh grader named Jaiden Rodriguez, to display the flag.
