Roll out red carpet for Molen

The recent decision of a Ronan school principal to deny Bigfork resident and Oscar-winning producer Gerald “Jerry” Molen an opportunity to speak to graduating seniors sure raised a fuss, and it should have.

After driving to Ronan to give an invited speech to the seniors, he was informed by Principal Tom Stack that he could not speak because “some callers” had concerns about Molen being too right wing.

In a more recent story, Stack said he made the decision because with previous speakers who were potentially controversial, the school had informed parents to give them the opportunity to choose whether their child should participate. In this case, he said, there wasn’t enough time to inform parents.

The problem here is that Stack didn’t even inquire about the content of Molen’s speech.

And an important thing to understand is that Molen is not a one-dimensional political figure. There is much more to his persona, namely that he has had a prestigious career in film-making, and prior to that he served as a U.S. Marine.

The producer of the Academy Award-winning “Schindler’s List” and other movies such as the first two “Jurassic Park” films planned on giving an apolitical, inspirational speech, encouraging the students to imagine making a film about their lives 40 years from now.  

But the decision to ban him wasn’t based on his speech, but rather on the concerns of “some callers” or possibly Stack’s own political views, which would be even worse.

It’s understandable how some parents would disapprove of speakers they consider too politically strident, such as leftist filmmaker Michael Moore or maybe even Molen, who is indeed an outspoken conservative.

But are contrary political views really so scary that speakers must be banned?

When school administrators bend to the will of a few without thought to content or courtesy, as was the case with Molen, then it is ultimately the students who miss out.

Stack has moved on to another school, not as a result of this incident, but Ronan school administrators owe Molen the courtesy of inviting him back next year with the red-carpet treatment his accomplishments deserve.