A raucous Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) board meeting, packed with parents and students lined up to speak about the district’s promotion of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and transgenderism, ended with school board members shutting down comments and ending the public meeting.

But parents and students remained in the building, first singing the national anthem, then continuing to testify – without the board being present. A school board member finally declared the meeting “an unlawful assembly,” and Loudoun deputies eventually cleared the room and arrested two individuals.

Which brings up an important question: Do school board members have the authority to label a gathering “an unlawful assembly”?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Tuesday that requires K-12 students in Florida to learn about the “evils of communism” in their high school civics classes.

The governor signed the bill following a press conference at Three Oaks Middle School in Fort Myers.

During the press conference, Gov. DeSantis said the bill tasks the Florida Department of Education with developing an integrated civics curriculum.

The governor said the bill also, “expands our previous efforts in civics to add a requirement for the high school government class that students receive instruction on the evils of communism and totalitarian ideologies.”

Even a casual observer of today’s culture would have to acknowledge that common sense isn’t so common after all. The death of critical thinking is a very real phenomenon these days. “Group think” is all the rage — the worldly philosophies of a few shaping the opinions and actions of the masses.

Ask no questions — just blindly nod, get in line and follow like sheep.

Increasingly, many are afraid to speak up. They don’t want to lose their jobs, their pensions or the relative peace they enjoy, so they stuff it — and lose their joy instead.

Cancel culture is real. There are names and ruined lives to prove it. In fact, even asking a question can put a bullseye on your back.