WEBSTER COUNTY, KY - I don't normally discuss political or social issues in this column, partly because typically it's not something I am comfortable discussing if I don't have a good grasp on the facts (I certainly don't want to mislead anyone), and also because writing about the goofy happenings in my personal life isn't only easier to write about but more entertaining as well.

I'm making an exception this week to write about something that's been on my mind for awhile, and let me state right up front that it's fine if you don't agree with me. I should also note while I'm on the subject that this is just my opinion and not a reflection of the opinion of this newspaper or its website. You probably already knew that, though.

When I was in college, I took a course in mass communication law. It was a required course for journalism students. Although it was over 10 years ago, I still remember a few things from that class. One of those is the concept of community standards. Essentially, what we were taught as we studied various U.S. Supreme Court cases is that communities were allowed to determine for themselves what was acceptable and unacceptable as common practices. As I recall, the cases typically involved the selling or distributing of certain magazines, but the precedent had greater implication in other areas, too.

Last week, I realized those days are gone. No longer may a community establish its own standard for moral behavior or choice if that standard interferes with even one other person who disagrees or is offended by it. (We'll overlook for the moment the contradiction of that one person's belief intruding on another's.) Specifically, I am referring to a $35,000 Itawamba County School District's (in Mississippi) settlement payment to a girl after the district cancelled its prom due to a difference of opinion with the girl on the claim that the issue was disruptive to the school district. The ACLU got involved, as did several other national organizations, and they fought on behalf of the girl. You can learn more about what happened on just about any national news site.

This is not the first time I have seen something like this happen. In the Illinois county where I used to work, a sign that read "The World Needs God" hung off the courthouse for years until one day someone decided that it was a violation of the Constitution and got the ACLU involved in the dispute. The county could have just removed the sign, but they decided to fight it. Of course, they lost, and the sign was moved to a privately-owned building across the street.

Who really lost, though? Certainly none of the representatives on the county board. It wasn't actually their money that they had to pay out in fines and legal fees. It wasn't their home that was targeted. It was a public building. They didn't actually have to pay any money out of their own pocket, at least no more than any of the other taxpayers did when the tax rates went up.

The same is true for the Mississippi school district that is now holding a $35,000 bill. The losers in this fight are not the school board members. The losers are the students, who will have less money to draw from for education and extra-curricular purposes. The losers are the parents, grandparents, and other taxpayers in the school district who could face higher taxes to help cover the cost of the settlement or other associated fees. (Honestly, I haven't seen anything in the stories I have read about the issue that said where the money to pay the settlement would come from, so I am making an "educated guess" about how it will be handled.)

After the announcement about the settlement was reported in the national news, some friends and I were talking about the outcome. The hard truth is that whatever your personal values are - right or wrong - you cannot place them above the personal values above even one other person. To do so as a public entity only invites a financial hardship on the entire community, and the attitude of "fighting to the bitter end" only ends up forcing everyone in the community into the fight. Ironically, even the people who may support the ideals of the person who challenges the status quo will have to pay the consequences in one way or another. It's a hard lesson to realize, but I don't think we can ignore it or pretend like the next time, "community standards" will prevail. Those days are indeed over, at least for the time being.

Posted by Karen Klay Orange - iSurf News

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