According to an inspiring story in the Blaze News last week, a courageous Indiana high school student fought his school authorities for his right to fly an American flag on the back of his pickup truck on school property and won the fight. He did not even have to take it to court after two dozen other students joined in and brought American flags to school.
A patriotic company in Cincinnati learned about East Central High School student Cameron Blasek’s dust-up with his school’s administrators over his First Amendment rights, if not his patriotism. The company offered the high school senior a free upgrade to his truck inspired by his love for the American flag.
This is the most galling part of the school's response: "I am pleased to inform you that we are allowing the display of the U.S. Flag." It is not up to them to "allow" or "not allow" the display of the flag. Our rights don't come from the government, or its petty bureaucrats.
— Jon Troyer (@theRTcafe) March 21, 2024
GCI Digital Imaging gave Blasek a new custom wrap for his truck with a red, white, and blue color scheme and the stars and stripes of the American flag. “I’m pretty happy that now I get to pull up to school in this thing, and I am happy to show off this American pride that I’ve been shown,” Blasek told a local news station.
The large format graphics company gave photos to WXIX anchor Tricia Macke showing Cameron’s truck undergoing its American flag makeover and the company hauling it on the back of a flatbed truck back home to its owner. Macke was kind enough to share it with the world in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Earlier this month, Cameron Blasek, a senior at East Central High School, was called to the principals office and told to remove his American Flag from his truck. He said no!” Macke wrote. “Other students hoisted flags on their vehicles in a show of support. The principal reversed his decision and allowed the flag to stay.”
Take that! 🇺🇸 UPDATE!
Earlier this month, Cameron Blasek, a senior at East Central High School, was called to the principals office and told to remove his American Flag from his truck. He said no! Other students hoisted flags on their vehicles in a show of support. The principal… pic.twitter.com/UG4DhwPJ3I— Tricia Macke (@FOX19Tricia) March 19, 2024
Had the dispute escalated to a courtroom, Blasek might have won. In the famous Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case in 1969, the court wrote, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. This has been the unmistakable holding of this Court for almost 50 years…”
