Throughout my adolescence, I got in trouble for things that others did not. If there were several students talking in class, I was the one called out for it. If a group of us were tardy, I was the one to get detention. I watched others cheat on tests, and the one time I tried, I got caught. If I talked back, I was immediately in trouble, while I watched other students get away with far worse behavior. This pattern of seemingly always getting in trouble for things that others didn’t followed me into adulthood. I would watch other coaches yell at their athletes, but if I so much as raised my voice an ounce, a parent e-mail was sure to be waiting for me in my inbox. I have watched other teachers break all kinds of rules, but if I so much as think about breaking a rule, I’d be admonished. It has affected me in a way where I am careful to watch myself—my tone, my words, my actions. As I’ve raised my two daughters, they have gone through the same thing I did—they continually were he...
In March, executive orders from governors across the country forced us to stay home, to close schools and churches and to shut down private businesses. Businesses were classified as either "essential" or "non-essential." All businesses deemed "non-essential" were forced to close. This included markets, clothing stores, boutiques, dine-in restaurants, and beauty salons. State parks, city parks, beaches, walking trails, lakes, and other wide open spaces were closed as well. Many people feel that the "social distancing," as it has come to be known, and stay at home executive orders violate their constitutional rights, such as our First Amendment right to freely exercise our religion, our right to peaceably assemble, and that we shall not be deprived of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Some of the people who feel their rights have been violated have decided to exercise their First Amendment right to protest. Some have even chosen...