The Flag Is Patriotic, Not Political
Misunderstood YAF chapter unfairly criticized for conservative views
2,977 flags line N McKinley Road in tribute of the victims of September 11, 2001.
September 17, 2019
For the remembrance of 9/11, Young Americans for Freedom, a national club with a chapter at Lake Forest High School, lined the sides of McKinley Road with thousands of American Flags. Why? To commemorate the 2,977 people killed on American soil in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.
The flag does not only stand for the 13 colonies and 50 states; it represents far more. The flag stands for the unity of a country that had great pain in 2001, that fought the good fight, that will remain free. The flag also “stands guard over (its) nation’s schools, the seedbed of good citizenship and true patriotism,” and according to the History of the American Flag, is “in or near every schoolhouse during school days.”
While YAF’s flag memorial was appreciated by many in the Lake Forest and Lake Bluff communities, it was not allowed on school property because administrators did not want to be seen as supporting a political club, no matter the side. The denial raises questions about YAF as a whole. Simply put: What is Young Americans for Freedom? Why were the flags not allowed on school property? Why can’t YAF honor 2,977 people with flags on school property?
Contrary to the criticism, YAF was in no way trying to bring politics to this respectful movement. The truth is that liberal students and administrators do not want a neutral campus, but rather a one-sided campus where the conservative perspective is silenced.
There are also misconceptions about YAF’s role at LFHS.
Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is a project of the Young America’s Foundation, which is a non-partisan, non-profit organization which “promotes to youth the principles of limited government, individual freedom, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional values.” Individual chapters “accomplish this by participating in a wide range of campus initiatives, such as the 9/11: Never Forget Project, Freedom Week, and the GPA Redistribution Contest, among others; and by hosting prominent conservative speakers.”
YAF chapters are active and recognized at more than 530 high school and college campuses across the United States. Unfortunately, our chapter has been labeled with inaccurate and hateful terms.
For example, on Facebook one critic said YAF is a “conservative White Nationalist group” and “anti LQBT and anti Muslim.”
In no way is there any truth to claims of intolerance or hate. In fact, YAF promotes a diverse range of speakers, including Herman Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Derryck Green, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Mia Love, and many others. I know this personally as I recently attended a YAF Free Enterprise Conference in Washington, DC, where I learned from men and women of all races, backgrounds, and beliefs. What “White Nationalist” group would encourage diverse speakers like these to inspire new generations?
The flags are solely in respect to this national day of grievance. LFHS claims they wanted to remain “politically neutral” when supporting this action yet the club did nothing to input its political beliefs in regards to the 9/11: Never Forget Project.
I am quite conflicted by the fact that the school claims putting up American flags has to be linked to a political side. Quite frankly, I believe, flying the flag is just being patriotic.
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Non Liberal Student • Sep 27, 2019 at 9:24 am
This article is greatly stated and your points are well-proven.
Sophie Smulevitz • Sep 20, 2019 at 1:55 pm
Thank you for the article, Catherine. However, when you say YAF is non partisan that is simply not the case. If you look at the Instagram page for YAF it’s full of liberal shaming posts. Quoting Casey Murray in a previous article, he says YAF is “the first partisan club in LFHS history”.
Lmao • Sep 20, 2019 at 10:37 am
While I don’t think YAF is inherently “white nationalist” or has white nationalist intentions, these biased political organizations are pretty cringey and annoying nonetheless. Whether they are liberal or conservative, they twist everything to fit their narrative and alter the truth. Perhaps the YAF club at LFHS can exist without being associated with the organization in order to have better optics.
Sarah Lewis • Sep 20, 2019 at 8:41 am
Nice job, Catherine! I am glad to hear your voice and your perspective.
anon • Sep 19, 2019 at 10:04 pm
Thank you for your perspective. I am just a little confused about the following quote: “In fact, YAF promotes a diverse range of speakers, including Herman Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy, Derryck Green, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Mia Love, and many others.” While I understand what you are meaning to say, I do not see how having diverse speakers helps the problem. An organization can have diverse speakers and still have a racially insensitive past. It is hard to feel comfortable at a school when there is a club that is a chapter of an organization founded by racially insensitive people (especially for those who are minorities or bi-racial like myself). It would be great if YAF could consider addressing this matter and explaining that they do not agree with the founders.
I just wanted to add that what you guys did for the memorial was great and I hope you guys do it again next year.
Thank you.
Barbara Allen • Sep 19, 2019 at 7:11 pm
I saw the display and thought it was nice. However the subsequent angry letters here and on the YAF website turned what I thought was a lovely gesture into a provocative and opportunistic liberal-bashing event.
I read Catherine’s report on the YAF website, “My YAF Chapter was Attacked for Trying to Remember 9/11 Victims on School Grounds.” It accuses the LFHS Administration of being liberal and unpatriotic. The Administration encouraged YAFs to go ahead and plant the flags on city property, however, no compromise was good enough for YAF. They were insulted. Uh boy.
If someone noticed the 9/11 flag-planting event was connected to YAF, one might expect some people to check out their website. I did. Contrary to Catherine’s report that YAF is “non-partisan” in bold letters, the evidence suggests otherwise.
YAF uses the term “Battle Plan” for a 9/11 Memorial Event. Their 9/11 “Battle Plan” under “Campus Activism” is on their website encourages the group to have a moment of prayer and to get a conservative speaker to come to the campus.
https://www.yaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2008-YAF-Battleplan_september.pdf
Following YAF’s step by step instructions, the LFHS Chapter planted 2,977 flags within 10 feet of school property along McKinley. Several photos were taken of smiling, happy faces. The photos were “liked” and shared and people left several congratulatory and thankful comments. Dissenters expressed their distaste for the YAF connection, and then they were promptly attacked for being “unpatriotic.”
YAF does not support any level of gun control. YAF teaches students to rebuke “Red Flag Laws” that would permit the police or family members to petition a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves.
I do not understand why people in our community are offended/insulted/angry that the LFHS Administrators would want to remain neutral from this very political group.
anonymous • Sep 19, 2019 at 3:54 pm
Good conversation on this topic, the flags looked great, and served as a tribute to the thousands of Americans we lost that day. Nice work by the students for getting it done!
If you take a look at the YAF website, twitter feed, etc, they are 100% about politics and stirring things up. We all know what “traditional values” is code for when coming from the conservative side. Every article on their YAF website targets the “left” “liberals” and calls them “antifa” and “intolerant” . The speakers they support like Michelle Malkin and Ben Shapiro are conspiracy theorists who have helped to build this political angst we are all feeling, pitting american vs american.
The last thing we need in our community and high school is to drag our kids into this political nightmare that we are living ..let them be kids, let them focus on their studies, and they can make their own choices when they are ready too. For now, we should just enjoy the beauty of the flags, and hope that we can come together as one America.
Recent LFHS Graduate • Sep 18, 2019 at 8:20 pm
Thank you for standing up for our country, those who have been affected by 9/11, and the rights of the students of LFHS. It’s so upsetting to see a school district with administration and teachers who push a left agenda in the classroom and in big school decisions. It used to be that LFHS teachers would silence conservative viewpoints, but now it has become so extreme that people cannot even express their patriotism. As a recent LFHS grad, I can assure you, Catherine, that LFHS and the district’s biased board do not represent the country. You will soon learn that there are others out there that appreciate your motives. Keep doing what you’re doing, regardless of opinionated, insecure, and overly-sensitive people. Whether you’re liberal, conservative, libertarian, or anything else, you have an obligation to stand up for our country’s flag and respecting those affected by 9/11. If you feel that you don’t have this obligation, then America probably isn’t the place for you 🙂
Joanna Marshall • Sep 18, 2019 at 8:15 pm
Catherine. Thank you
My son joined YAF today because of you. And I have heard many others have as well.
God Bless you
Casey Murray • Sep 18, 2019 at 5:37 pm
Nice work Catherine! You had an opinion and let it be known to the world — more than most people would do. I look forward to seeing great things from both you and Kelsey this year.
anonymous • Sep 18, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Catherine, I respect your response to this situation and appreciate you taking a bold stance on what has become an apparent controversy within the community. I am in no way attempting to start an argument, however, I do see several glaring issues with your take on this situation that deserve to be noted.
First off, your claim that “liberal students and administrators do not want a neutral campus, but rather a one-sided campus where the conservative perspective is silenced” confuses me greatly as it is blatantly hypocritical in regards to your broader message. In this article, you are essentially making an argument in support of the political neutrality involved in the flag display in honor of the victims of 9/11, yet this claim seems to suggest just the opposite; that the flag display was intended as an outlet in which conservative perspective could be showcased- a perspective that you attack “liberal students” for attempting to silence.
Second, I found the argument you utilized to dispute claims of YAF being called a “Conservative White Nationalist” group to be deeply troubling and offensive. Posing the question of “What ‘White Nationalist’ group would encourage diverse speakers like these to inspire new nations?”, is essentially playing into the narrative that institutionalized rhetorics of racism and white nationalism can simply be expunged by advertising existing relationships and interactions with those of racial/ethnic minorities, as you claimed to have had with these speakers. Although it is commonly known that the YAF Organization as a whole has had issues in the past with supporting sentiments of racism, white nationalism, as well as anti LBGTQ and anti Musilum rhetoric, I am in no way suggesting that the chapter at LFHS is in any way in support or in association with these messages. However, I do think it is important to take a step back and realize the true implications of this argument and how it comes across. In my opinion, citing the inclusion of diverse individuals as a direct determinant of the absence of racist/bigoted ideologies among group members is completely unwarranted. This reasoning is logically backwards and appears rather insensitive towards understanding the true weight of this issue.
Anonymous • Sep 18, 2019 at 10:59 am
Catherine,
This article is so well written and very much needed. Thank you for speaking out and using your voice. Round of applause to you!
LFHS Mom • Sep 18, 2019 at 10:53 am
Dear Catherine,
Thank you for a very nice rebuttal. I love your family and hope we can accept to respectfully disagree.
I kindly ask you to research Robinson and Taylor, two of the YAF leaders. Taylor’s other group NPI that he leads “prefer to be referred to as “white nationalists,” not white supremacists, according to Heidi Beirich, a spokeswoman for the Southern Poverty Law Center. She adds: “They think that’s its a more high-brow term than white supremacism.” https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/01/ron-robinson-james-b-taylor-young-americas-foundation-white-nationalists/
I applaud a Republican or Conservative or a Democratic Youth group in our community. But not at the high school that is supposed to stay neutral. What is the need for a group with leaders with such extreme views as Robinson and Taylor? Do you believe that they do not set the agenda for YAF?
The core of the discussion on social media is many feel that posting a(ny) political sign with our flag IS politicizing our flag.
It is possible to be Libertarian, Conservative or Republican and not like this “capture the flag” game. It is wrong and off the point, and divisive to label those disagreeing with YAF as liberals, non patriotic, against free speech and so on.
I ask you kindly to take a step back, think about how bringing in YAF to our school might be perceived for the many minorities at LFHS. YAF have speakers that talk about being Gay being wrong and conversion therapy being the morally right. YAF has leaders that teaches students to call LQBTs “FAGTS” so that they can get away with slurs. YAF has leaders that on video states “you can call anyone whatever you want, as long as it is non-whites”.
I hope that you will try to keep the LFHS YAF chapter clean of these types of speakers and insults, but I struggle to understand why we need such divisiveness.
AJ Shaw • Sep 18, 2019 at 9:50 am
I tip my invisible cap to you Catherine. Great stuff.
Elena Erkenswick • Sep 18, 2019 at 8:16 am
Thank you for this amazing article, Catherine! It’s unfortunate that YAF had to take responsibility for a service that should’ve been handled by the school/district. It’s hard to stand up for you believe in when those that are in higher positions are constantly silencing certain views! You did a wonderful job!!
LFHS Student • Sep 18, 2019 at 7:08 am
“The truth is liberal students and administrators do not want a neutral campus, but rather a one-sided campus where the conservative perspective is silenced…” I have to disagree with this. How come Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative club, exists, yet there is no Democratic or other political party counterpart? Also, if you look under the campus activism section of the Young Americans for Freedom page, it directly says, “We can help you advocate for conservatism and speak out against the liberal agenda” (https://students.yaf.org/campus-activism/). So you’re upset about the “conservative perspective being silenced,” but your organization is directly against liberal ideas versus being open to other viewpoints? How can we learn to openly discuss politics when your club is completely closed off to those with opposing ideas? And we wonder why our current political climate is so polarizing.
L M Richards • Sep 17, 2019 at 10:46 pm
Educate yourselves on what YAF is all about…
https://www.yaf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2008-YAF-Battleplan_september.pdf
JD O'Keane • Sep 17, 2019 at 10:17 pm
AMAZING article Catherine! Thank you for standing up and saying what our flag represents, a symbol of unity among all beliefs! YAF is an wonderful organization and I applaud your efforts in bringing it to LFHS. Keep doing what you are doing!!
Anonymous • Sep 17, 2019 at 9:55 pm
Well written article Catherine. And I am genuinely asking this question and I hope it does not come off as aggressive in any manner because maybe I am not understanding the other side of this, but I am a liberal and I hope that conservatives are still able to voice their opinions just as much as liberals are. Being a liberal in a highly conservative town I feel as though my ideas are pushed down a lot and I try my best not to bring up politics at school. Thank you guys for honoring the 9/11 memorial, but I respectively disagree that our school pushes liberal ideas onto people. My sister is bi and she struggled throughout her time at LFHS constantly being made fun of and ridiculed for her liberal view points. I saw how tough it was for her because she was so vocal about her view points so I tend to not talk about politics at school. I do not believe that the “conservatives are wrong and the liberals are right” or that the “liberals are wrong and the conservatives are right” because everyone has opinions but no opinion can be “true.” I am a liberal and I am very patriotic, and I hope that the American flag can represent both conservatives and liberals. I do not wish to start a comments fight and I just wanted to thank you and Kelsey for voicing your opinions and writing well written articles and I hope that these political divides at our school will not grow into a future issue. Thank you
Maria Tsarik • Sep 17, 2019 at 9:27 pm
Awesome article Catherine! No one has stated it better. Thank you for standing up and defending a respectful action of yaf for Veterans Day. This was meant as a patriotic gesture, meant in no way to be political
Connor Milliman • Sep 17, 2019 at 9:04 pm
No one could’ve said it better. Great article right here