Let It Burn

Let It Burn!

Burning the American Flag, MY flag, by an American Citizen in protest of any of our policies or laws is insulting to me. Telling me that my country is less than the best in the world pisses me off. Proclaiming that the United States of America is an imperialistic power hungry nation of selfish spoiled people makes my blood boil. But what makes me more upset than anything else is when my own people tell me I can't say what I believe and/or demonstrate those beliefs by symbolic actions that stimulate debate and get the attention of others. The highest ideal that makes this country great starts and lives in the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

This amendment is the cornerstone of our freedom. The more restrictions made through law or other amendments the worse for all of us. We must all demand to keep the definition of our freedoms as broad as possible. Any narrowing or limiting of its definition hurts us all, for when the day comes that we disagree with something, we may be stifled for our beliefs.

Justice William J. Brennan, giving the majority opinion in a flag burning case, declared that, "The government may not prohibit expression simply because it disagrees with its message." Furthermore Brennan noted, "(the message) is not dependent on the particular mode in which one chooses to express an idea." He also wrote, "Punishing desecration of the flag dilutes the very freedom that makes this emblem so revered, and worth revering."

I could not say it better. There are many things that people say that I would oppose with every fiber of my being, but that does not mean that they can't say them. There are many things that people do to show their discontent with our country and our policies. I don't have to like them but I will defend to the death the right of any American Citizen to demonstrate their opposition to any policy or law.

There are problems with a law against American Flag desecration. The American Flag has a blue field with fifty white stars, seven red stripes, and six white stripes. What if I make a flag that looks just like the American Flag but I put fifty-six stars on it. That would not be an American Flag. Can I burn that? Nobody is going to count the stars and say, "Oh that had fifty-six stars, so it's ok."

What about clothing made to look like the American Flag? Is it okay for a really hot girl to wear a bikini made from the stars and stripes, but desecration for another girl to wear one because we think she's ugly?

Can a person that lives in a dumpy house put an American Flag on the front of their house? Someone is sure to think that it is desecration.

What about this? Hundreds of American Flags are burned by Boy Scouts every year. Evidently it's okay to burn a flag if you do it the "right way." So we are going to have a law that tells us how we can burn a flag, not that we can't burn a flag.

There is a movie called The American President. In it the President says:

"America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, 'You want free speech?... Then 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. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.'"

AMEN! To be a true patriotic American, you must believe in the absolute right of all Americans to question their government and to demonstrate their beliefs through speech and other methods of expression, no matter how much you wish you could squash it, like a fascist would!

________________________________________________________

Ric's Blogs All Blogs Ric's Web Site

________________________________________________________

Constructive comments welcome at blog@ricsweb.com

________________________________________________________________