m forcing young Jehovah's Witnesses to salute the flag, the Court said: "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." (Bowden 1998) School boards who hold diplomas for ransom, pending compliance with the prevailing belief of self-sacrifice, are engaging in nothing less than unconstitutional moral teaching. Supporters of mandatory community service insist that it is really for the students' own good. For example, the Bethlehem program claimed that compulsory service helps students "develop pride in assisting others." (Bowden 1998) But does anyone really believe that students will develop pride by surrendering to orders, abandoning their own personal projects, and serving the needs of strangers? The true source of pride is the achievement of one's own values. Pride in oneself cannot result from wiping one's own values out of existence. In closing lets suppose, for example, we want to justify a program that involves breaking students' legs. First, we motivate the students by withholding their diplomas unless they take part. Then we encourage the students to engage in meaningful participation by choosing which of their legs is to be crushed. Finally, we list the "educational purposes." Not only will students' wheelchair experiences teach them to empathize with the permanently disabled, but students will also "develop pride in their ability to overcome adversity," through the valuable "coping skills" learned while enduring intense physical pain. Why is it so easy to see the horror in a program that breaks students' bones, yet so hard to see the same horror in a program that breaks students' spirits?...
