Those kind, tolerant folks on the left just couldn’t stand the idea of some veterans of the Iraq war talking to kids about the issue.  If that happened, these confused kids might become Marines or something.

While school officials at Forest Lake Area High School fielded many phone calls Tuesday from people upset with their decision to cancel a visit by touring veterans, more than 100 people greeted the vets at the local American Legion center.

The National Heroes Tour, featuring decorated troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan talking about their military experiences, was supposed to address about 150 social studies students at the high school. About 50 students from the high school were excused from classes Tuesday morning to attend the presentation, school officials said later.

Derek Dovolos, 18, a senior who plans to join the Army National Guard after graduating, said: “I knew they were coming to our school, and when I heard that they weren’t coming that made me angry. ... I’m here to support our troops and that’s all that matters.”

Vets for Freedom, a national organization that describes itself as non-partisan and is run by a graduate of Forest Lake Area High School, organized the tour across the country to advocate for completing the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the group’s leader said it had agreed not to discuss finishing the missions during the high school appearance.

But Monday afternoon, officials called off the event, after receiving roughly two dozen phone calls and e-mails from people opposed to the visit. Some objectors said they would stage antiwar demonstrations.

I can actually understand the school’s concern over an advocacy group being invited to the school.  That’s a pretty fine line to walk, but even so there was a promise in place here to not politicize the event and no reason why that promise shouldn’t have been believed.

If anything, this is an argument for school choice.  If you had a school voucher and could choose where your kid went to school you could subject administrators like the ones at Forest Lake to the power of the market.  They make a decision you don’t like?  Take your education business elsewhere.