The Senate Judiciary Committee approved an amendment to the Constitution (S.J.RES.4) adding “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.”
I disagree with laws prohibiting flag-burning or anything of the sort. I agree with laws that state the proper protocal for the use of the flag, but with no punishments for lacking proper taste.
“The symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.” –President Andrew Shepherd, The American President
We should celebrate our flag. It should wave proudly as a symbol of the freedom that we hold so dear. That freedom is paramount though. The ability to exercise our free speech, rather it be in the form of a Random Musings weblog, a well-crafted “Admit It! Our public debate has been reduced to reading bumper stickers.” bumper sticker, a t-shirt telling you that 1 out of every 4 women are sexually assualted at some point, a pile of discarded textbooks protesting buy-back prices or a flag burned to decry some governmental injustice. As long as it’s done in a safe manner, why should we limit our free speech to protect a symbol that represents, among other things, our free speech?
That may not be the worst part of it.
What will happen to that young man who wears an American flag shirt and sweats too much? What about that young woman who gets a flag bikini dirty from laying in the sand? What about me- I’ve had a small flag in my car since 9/11. It’s starting to fade? Is that desecration? It’s not an fade-resistant flag. Am I wrong for not preventing that type of destruction?
There are greater ills in this society that should be taking up the time of Congress.
I disagree with laws prohibiting flag-burning or anything of the sort. I agree with laws that state the proper protocal for the use of the flag, but with no punishments for lacking proper taste.
“The symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.” –President Andrew Shepherd, The American President
We should celebrate our flag. It should wave proudly as a symbol of the freedom that we hold so dear. That freedom is paramount though. The ability to exercise our free speech, rather it be in the form of a Random Musings weblog, a well-crafted “Admit It! Our public debate has been reduced to reading bumper stickers.” bumper sticker, a t-shirt telling you that 1 out of every 4 women are sexually assualted at some point, a pile of discarded textbooks protesting buy-back prices or a flag burned to decry some governmental injustice. As long as it’s done in a safe manner, why should we limit our free speech to protect a symbol that represents, among other things, our free speech?
That may not be the worst part of it.
What will happen to that young man who wears an American flag shirt and sweats too much? What about that young woman who gets a flag bikini dirty from laying in the sand? What about me- I’ve had a small flag in my car since 9/11. It’s starting to fade? Is that desecration? It’s not an fade-resistant flag. Am I wrong for not preventing that type of destruction?
There are greater ills in this society that should be taking up the time of Congress.
Leave a Reply