Commentator Stephen A. Smith recently criticized Democrats in Congress for lacking decorum and discipline in public life, a complaint that didn't come from a conservative podium; it came from frustration.
Americans see elected officials behave like children, and then pretend outrage when called out.
Related: President Donald Trump Stands Victim of His Own Success
But the rot doesn't stop in Congress.
A lesson a New York teacher learned the hard way.
Helping students is not a crime
Jennifer Fasulo, a respected teacher at Charles W. Baker High School in Baldwinsville, a suburb of Syracuse, New York, was placed on leave after helping students organize a Turning Point USA event.
The sin behind the sin?
The conservative viewpoints that Charlie Kirk's organization promote and share on college and high school campuses.
Students exercised free speech, and Fasulo supported them in navigating school procedures.
No crime, misconduct, or scandal.
Yet outrage followed, administrators reacted, and the pressure mounted.
You would've thought that she promoted the practice of shaving Mohawks on puppies while teaching them everyday Latin.
Now, a woman who helped students learn how to participate in civic life sits sidelined.
If education means anything, it means preparing young people to engage with ideas they may not like. Instead, adults with power punished a teacher for allowing students to hear them; a lesson that doesn't belong anywhere near classrooms.
Grow up.
Law enforcement should cooperate
In Detroit, two unnamed police officers were suspended for cooperating with U.S. Border Patrol agents on two separate occasions.
Chief Todd Bettison said the Detroit Police Department doesn't conduct immigration enforcement, and suspended the two, citing policy restrictions.
Supporters of the action celebrated the punishment as proof of "resistance."
Bettison's goal isn't just suspension; he's seeking termination.
Police officers swear to uphold the law, while Border Patrol agents enforce federal immigration law, and cooperation between agencies has long been a common practice across jurisdictions.
Nothing illegal happened; there was no abuse of power, and the officers worked with fellow law enforcement professionals.
And were punished for it.
Grow the hell up.
Violence did not slow the rage
After Charlie Kirk's assassination, many hoped rhetoric might cool; surely a tragedy would shock the system, causing leaders to at least pause and call for restraint.
Pfft!
Instead, hostility keeps intensifying. In these cases, teachers and police officers are suspended and probably fired. Anybody who steps outside approved ideology becomes a target.
Why?
President Donald Trump.
His administration pushes border enforcement, economic nationalism, and institutional reform. Midterms are approaching, perhaps shifting political power, creating a situation where control may slip away.
To solve these dilemmas, escalation is the answer: Punish dissent, isolate cooperation, and shame anybody who refuses to chant along.
That's not activism, that's tantrum politics.
Tolerance cannot be selective
Public figures on the left drone on endlessly about inclusion, demanding respect for diverse viewpoints, insisting that democracy depends on dialogue.
Pfft again!
Dialogue means hearing ideas you don't like, while law enforcement cooperation means respecting the chain of command, and student organization means allowing debate without retaliation.
Fasulo helped her students; Detroit officers helped federal agents. There were no crimes committed, nobody was hurt, yet everybody suffered consequences, because their actions offended ideological gatekeepers.
Intolerance has been growing louder by the week.
The solution isn't more fury; it's adulthood.
Disagreement will always exist, elections will continually swing back and forth, leaders will change, and policies will shift: a healthy republic survives because people accept loss without lashing out at neighbors.
Grown adults don't punish teachers for guiding students while they learn valuable civics lessons. Adults don't suspend, then likely fire officers for cooperating with fellow officers. Adults argue their case, decide, and move on.
Really, grow the hell up!
Final Thoughts
There's always tension in political life, but punishment for lawful conduct erodes civic trust and invites deeper division. A country that values free speech and lawful enforcement can't afford selective outrage.
Those who claim moral authority should demonstrate it through restraint, not retaliation.
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