The primary purpose of Covington Catholic High School is to embrace the gospel message of Jesus Christ in order to educate young men spiritually, academically, physically, and socially. -f rom the Covington Catholic High School website
Not In MY (old) School - A Parable
All the sophomore boys had to be faster than the rest of the school: their wing was four stories above the auditorium and they only had five minutes to get to assembly. Terry Reardon wondered why it was being called - today was a rare "half day" and he was looking forward to hosting some of the guys at his house for lunch. And the guys loved Mrs Reardon's cooking.
When Terry arrived at the auditorium's open doors, he saw Father Bertelli the school's dean of discipline on the stage.
And no one else. Terry felt his stomach go sour. He surmised what was up.
Armageddon.
Father Bertelli:
"I guess you don't know why you men are here. If you do, then you're probably one of the culprits.
Terry flinched. He had acted up in class occasionally, earning stints outside Bertelli's office kneeling in the marble floor facing tithe wall, but this was different.
"A report just came in that two of you were seen being disrespectful on the West Highland bus to an elderly lady, snickering at her, mocking the fact that she took too long to get on.
That lady's daughter phoned in the complaint. And that's why you're here. If the two men will come forward, you all can go home. If not ..."
So two guys will either face Father Bertelli and the probability of expulsion, or a pummeling from a shitload of guys who had to idle away a free afternoon in the auditorium in silence. It was "Bertelli or the guys. Oh well...," Terry slowly stood up, and with bowed head walked down the aisle.
Expulsion, ridicule and two furious parents who had scraped up money to send him to this elite college prep school. Life as he knew it was over for Terry Hallihan.
Parable: It's one thing to act badly in class, another thing to act badly in life.
The above scene didn't happen, but it could have in the prep school I attended in a suburb of Chicago. Even the tiniest infraction of decorum could lead to expulsion. After all, the school's reputation was at stake. My school didn't simply follow role models, it MADE them.
I just received a glossy newsletter from my old school: the high academic standards from the now coed school garnered over 500 scholarships worth $13 million - for 275 students. I can say with confidence that Trump could not have been a role model for any of them. The man who shouts that he knows everything is actually a con man who knows nothing. My own classmates would have seen past him in an instant, past the ideas and ideals of man who catered to fear and ignorance, supported not by knowledge or experience, but by the kind of bloviating showmanship their made-for-TV minds had become accustomed to. Thank God the current students have seen past all this as well.
Looking at the faces of the Covington school's boys wearing MAGA caps, I could not imagine a contrite demeanor coming from any of them. It was clear that they were mocking and jeering at the elderly male "Pocahontas" as if they, in the cloak of their silly youth, thought they could get away with anything, even with disrespecting someone so publicly. They didn't think in terms of disrespect while they were jeering at Native Americans. Hell, they didn't know any Native Americans and certainly didn't know even WHY they were there. What they perceived as an attack on them from the Black Hebrew Israelites may have resulted in an attack of silly mockery of everyone around them. They certainly didn't think that they were products of Donald Trump's rhetoric - as filtered through their parents. But, in a sense, they were.
Lack of Diversity Breeds Animosity
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