ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

“What mighty contests arise from trivial things.” — Alexander Pope

Though I have long considered such issue as merely cosmetic, there indeed have been mighty contests over mascots, icons, logos and brands associated with schools.

Author Naomi Klein  wrote a book 25 years ago called “No Logo,” which examined our seeming obsession with appearance and how symbols, logos and their ilk somehow have become so important to us.

The most recent local example has been the Wayland Board of Education’s lengthy discussions and debate over the Wildcat mascot, its demeanor and its color. I have been astonished with what I have seen and heard in public meetings.

The Wayland Wildcat has been around for a long time, but there now are discussions about making its drawing a little less fierce and exactly what color it should be. The consensus is that the color should resemble Michigan State University’s forest green and there’s hand wringing about some Wayland sports team sport uniforms that look different. I remember when the Wayland football team uniforms were actually gold with green lettering a half century ago.

But my main reaction is — so what? It’s a cosmetic issue and not worthy of so much debate as curriculum and how best to educate the young people of this district. It’s about as important as all the wrangling over a mission statement: which nearly all school boards do.

Wayland is the only one of the three district covered by Townbroadcast that has remained steadfastly loyal to its mascot.

Martin a few times each year enjoys recalling its old nickname of the Onion Kings and even sets aside certain nights paying homage to the unique old mascot. Before Martin became the Clippers in the 1950s, it was proudly the Onion Kings, but Supt. Al Deal, who later became president of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, insisted on switching to Clippers.

I have no idea what connection Martin has to sailing, but the community once was well known for growing, processing and selling onions from its fields of muck.

Hopkins had its mascot change as well. It was the Blue Devils in the 1930s, ’40 and ‘50s, but switched very quietly to the Vikings during the 1962-63 academic year. My understanding is that too many parents and citizens didn’t like the reference to unholy figures and wanted change, just like more modern times with Indians and Redskins.

Author, historian and sociologist Neal Postman, who wrote “Amusing Ourselves to Death” in 1984, noted that we modern Americans get most of our information via visual sources, not like reading and listening in bygone days. He maintained visual wasn’t as good a learning experience because it allows the recipient to be lazy.

So I must return to my reaction to hand wringing over what today is called “branding.” I think there are far more important tasks for school officials to handle.