CLOTHES MAKES THE MAN....

Many adults worry that we are coddling our youth today. That kids have it too easy and have become lazy, complacent and spoiled. The old adage “spare the rod and spoil the child” has gained support in many parts of the country. What some fellow named Rod has to do with anything stumps the Geezer but I’m for free speech as long as it doesn’t start with, “you know?”

It is true that many young people seem to have the attitude that the world owes them much like athletes and viewers that watch Dancing with the Stars. Kids only seem to be interested in I pods and computer games. Their lack of ambition and concern about what’s happening in the world doesn’t bode well for the next generation. They don’t seem involved in important issues like unemployment, the gulf between the ‘haves and have nots’, the homeless and whether American Idol is fixed or not.

Occasionally, a young boy or girl steps up to the plate and takes a principled stand on an issue. When they do, they should be applauded and encouraged. A 17-year old lad living in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey has done just that. It seems that the Hasbrouck School, where he’s a senior, decided to institute a “no-shorts” policy. School officials felt that wearing shorts showed a lack of respect. 17-year old Michael Coviello felt that the ban on shorts didn’t make sense and as a protest he decided to show up at school in a dress. Apparently he felt the district’s dress code forbidding shorts but allowing skirts was discriminatory. He first showed up wearing a costume-style dress but high school officials told him to go home and change. They didn’t like the fit and even suggested that he buy everyday dresses and skirts at a retail store. It seems the school officials had nothing against him wearing dresses as long as they were purchased a JCPenny.

But after a few days of dressing like Grandma Walton he was sent home again but with a note from his principal saying if he wore a dress, kilt or skirt, he could no longer attend school. Young Michael howled like someone had stepped on his dresses’ hem and he decided to take the matter to a higher power. He enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union – a group that seems to have nothing better to do than get involved in silly and often unpopular causes…like defending the right of Nazi’s and skinheads to screw up our society.

The ACLU met with school officials and they finally reached an agreement and compromise. Instead of rescinding the “no-shorts” policy the geniuses decided to allow the 17-year old senior to wear dresses to school. Evidently the wolf whistles he was getting from football players didn’t faze this principled patriot. He claimed that he was doing it for all student and a few transvestites. His only problem now is whether to wear panty-hose with his outfits?