Diane Tran seems to be a model of the resilience and determination we’d would love every 17-year-old to have. She’s a honor student at her high school, despite the fact she holds a full-time job and a part-time job in order to support an older brother in college and a younger sister who lives with relatives. After her parents divorced and both moved away, she’s taken on tremendous responsibility.
But that’s not enough for a Texas judge. Despite the fact that she’s an honor student and has circumstances that would be a nightmare for anyone, Judge Lanny Moriarty sent Diane to jail for 24 hours and fined her $100 — for the egregious sin of missing too many days at school.
The judge admitted that his tough treatment of Diane was to send a message to others.
“If you let one [truant student] run loose, what are you gonna do with the rest of ’em? Let them go too?” Moriarty said.
What if we planted for future instead of spending for today?
I often need to remind myself what I still believe to be true
If we keep waiting for perfection, we’ll always keep traveling alone
It’s a very old cliche, but it’s true: Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt
Do you believe you’re free? Slavery by any other name is still slavery
I can’t tell truth about my father unless I dig for truth about me
Can we find ways to separate love of home from worship of government?
When governments keep secrets, you’re probably being lied to
After last month’s weight freakout, something’s shifted in my attitude