Flag Day has come and gone so maybe I can get away with being a little irreverent on the subject.
I support the right to burn the American flag as a form of protest. In other words, I oppose laws banning flag desecration.
I just ticked off a lot of people, I know. And there's no point apologizing because I'm not sorry and I doubt I'll ever change my mind. Don't get me wrong... it's not because I like or support people who burn the flag or walk on the flag or do any other disrespectful act to the flag.
In fact, I think they're idiots. I think they don't have a clue about the price that's been paid over the past three centuries in order to protect their right to do so. But being an idiot isn't a crime. Being offensive isn't a crime... at least not in America.
I think Michael Douglas did a pretty good job as Andrew Shepherd in The American President. Though he plays a Democrat and I'd argue most points he makes in the role, I agree with his line, "The symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. (It) also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest."
That's exactly the point. No matter how patriotic you are, if you're an American, your allegiance isn't to a piece of fabric. It's to those words written on parchment, "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech."
You'll never see me burn a flag and if I see someone doing it, I'm probably going to find out what they're protesting and go support that. But if I see you attacking someone for burning a flag, I'm going to defend the flag burner.
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