It is better to be safe than sorry in almost all cases. Taking pre-emptive actions to be certain that a device in a school full of children is not a bomb should always be regarded as correct. Such was the scenario in Irving, Texas this past week, when Ahmed Mohamed, a 14-year-old student of MacArthur High School, brought a clock to his school that he re-assembled. His clock did not look like an analog clock that one would hang on a wall or a digital clock that one would set on a nightstand.

       Mohamed spent the day in school showing his device off to his peers. He apparently did not communicate much of anything to teachers or students about the clock when asked about it, and one or more teachers became concerned with Mohamed’s reluctance, and they alerted the school’s principal, who promptly notified the local police.

       There is no doubt that Mohamed’s name, skin color and religious affiliation played some part in his arrest and interrogation. But how much exactly, and how much does that really matter? I am by no means saying that Mohamed deserved to be arrested. By most accounts it appears that Mohamed had no intention of causing any stir. He should not have been suspended from school, which he was for three days before his parents withdrew him from the Irving Independent School District.

       Mohamed should be defended, welcomed and supported, but not praised. It is wrong that he was arrested and suspended for bringing a clock to school. But the administration and the teachers who acted upon their suspicion of the device being a bomb deserve to be praised as much as, if not more than, Mohamed. The proceedings in the Irving Independent School district made certain that Mohamed’s clock was not a bomb. I will support that outcome every single time.

       Every time a device that looks like Mohamed’s clock is brought into a school, or a public place that could be the target of a terrorist attack, I hope that someone with some authority takes a look at the device to ensure that it is not a bomb.

       The liberal contingent of the United States calls for pre-emptive measures to be taken, usually involving gun control, to prevent mass killings and tragedies. Why is it that large portions of that same liberal group were outraged that extensive measures were taken to be certain that another mass killing did not take place in Irving?

       President Barack  Obama even invited Ahmed to the White House in a tweet.

       “Cool clock, Ahmed,” the tweet said. “Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”

       I have a major problem with this sentiment echoed by President Obama. Mohamed probably could not bring his clock to the White House without White House security knowing who he is or what his purpose is. If any civilian tried to bring Ahmed’s clock into the White House, they would probably end up being apprehended and investigated, just as Ahmed was in his school. That being the case, the example made out of the situation in Texas should be the successful steps taken to prevent tragedy.