wsmith | On the topic of flag burning

Since it seems to be the topic of the moment, I might as well put in my two cents. Before I launch into my little diatribe, I'd like to state that I am uncategorically against any amendment prohibiting the burning of our flag, the flag of any other country, or any other piece of cloth. That being said, I consider myself a patriot (rather than a nationalist which seems to be the recent trend) and have no wish to burn a United States flag, but would do so if I felt it were necessary. "Under what conditions might it be necessary for a patriot to burn a flag?" you ask. I'll tell you. It would be necessary if I felt that by doing so I would risk imprisonment. Yes, burning a flag is offensive. It is offensive to the citizenry and offensive to the government. That is the point. It is my essential right under the constitution to say (and by extension, do) things that are offensive without risk of legal reprisals. It would be necessary to burn a flag to show those around me that their essential rights under the constitution have been legislated out of existence.

It's very easy to say that you support the concept of freedom of speech as long as no one is saying anything offensive. The hard part is sticking to your ideals when someone has something to say or do that is entirely offensive to you. That's when your strength of character is tested and the durability of your ethical fiber shows through. If you believe in freedom of speech but don't think that people should be able to say what they want or do what they want with whatever symbolic thing that they want, then you don't really believe in free speech. The instant a person is not allowed to say what they wish, their speech is no longer free, just mostly unregulated. The first amendment to the constitution does not call for "mostly unregulated speech."

When a law is passed that limits the people's civil rights, it is not obvious until someone crosses the line made by the new law. If we passed a bill outlawing the use of the word "hafftenshlofenlingentotendonberriculous" (which I just made up, by the way) no one would really notice that it had been outlawed because people don't have occasion to say that word. If such a law were passed, I believe that it would be my duty as a member of this society and as a citizen of this nation to say that word as often and as loudly as I could until I was arrested for it. Burning flags is the same sort of thing. It needs to be done if only to make certain that our right to do so is intact. We are not a society that was founded on bowing its head to oppressive laws nor buckling under tyanny. I believe that we have a duty to ensure that our rights are maintained. If a law outlawing the burning of flags passed, I would make the sacrifice that needed to be made to ensure the ideals for which this country stands were maintained. I would be out there burning a flag. Anything less would be unamerican.