Student Banned from Delivering Patriotic Speech over 'Inclusion' Concerns

Todd Starnes-Opinion : May 22, 2024
ToddStarnes.com

"...It is an honor to live in this country and sadly some people take their citizenship for granted. Whether it is disrespecting the people who protect us or eating nachos during the national anthem at a sporting event. Many people recite the Pledge of Allegiance without understanding its meaning..." -Jimmy Heyward, from his campaign speech

[ToddStarnes.com] Jimmy Heyward is a middle schooler at Saint Bonaventure Catholic School in Huntington Beach, California. (Screengrab image: via Newsmax /Todd Starnes)

He decided to run for student council the other day. He had aspirations of becoming the school's commissioner of school spirit and patriotism.

Jimmy put together one heck of a campaign strategy—one even President Trump would have admired. The young fellow designed a banner and created embroidered red hats all adorned with his campaign message—Make Saint Bonaventure Great Again.

Of course, part of running for office is delivering a stump speech—and Jimmy had written a terrific speech.

He wanted to encourage his classmates to respect America, to know the meaning of the pledge of allegiance and to stop eating nachos during the National Anthem.

But Jimmy never got to deliver that speech. That's because school leaders made him remove all the references to patriotism. When Jimmy stood his ground, the school told him he would not be allowed to speak.

The entire episode was meant to shame a little boy whose only crime is to love America—silenced because he's a patriot. To make matters worse—the school sent an email to parents and teachers alleging that Jimmy's speech violated the school's Christian Code of Conduct and insinuated he was not respectful or inclusive. Shame on Saint Bonaventure Catholic School. And the godless, heathen communist who wrote that email should be fired on the spot.

Elon Musk wrote on his X Account: "Hating on America is not cool."

Since Jimmy was banned from delivering his remarks at Saint Bonaventure, my team reached out to his mother and she gave us permission to broadcast her son's speech right here on Newsmax. Click Here and scroll down to watch.

"My love for America is my motivation for running for Commissioner of Patriotism and School Spirit," the 13-year-old said. "It is an honor to live in this country and sadly some people take their citizenship for granted. Whether it is disrespecting the people who protect us or eating nachos during the national anthem at a sporting event. Many people recite the Pledge of Allegiance without understanding its meaning. If someone doesn't truly know what they are pledging to the United States of America, we might as well be reciting the lyrics to 'Shake It Off' by Taylor Swift. I want to fix this so everyone understands the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance. As the Commissioner of Patriotism. I would have the crucial task of creating ways to bring more patriotism to SBS. I love my country and I love Saint Bonaventure, but I want to strengthen our patriotism and school spirit. So accordingly, I, Jimmy Hayward, am running for Commissioner of Patriotism and School Spirit. I want to clarify that my ideas are not promises, but I can promise to make pep rallies great again. I will make the school spirit great again. I will make patriotism within SBS be great again. And mostly I will make SBS great again. Thank you and God bless Saint Bonaventure Catholic School."

God bless you, Jimmy! What a terrific speech and what a great reminder of what a great nation we have. Ronald Reagan once said that American greatness starts not in Washington, DC but around the kitchen table.

Jimmy was clearly raised right—taught to love God and Country, to respect our military and law enforcement. Traditional Values. American values.

In my new book, "Twilight's Last Gleaming," I write about those values. The values that made our nation the most exceptional in the world. And I asked a question—can America be saved? I believe the answer to that question is yes. With young people like Jimmy Heyward of Huntington Beach, California—there's no doubt in my mind that we will forever be the land of the free and the home of the brave. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here