Flag Burning
The house has just passed a proposed amendment
concerning the desecration of the American Flag. It
Reads:
"The Congress shall have power to prohibit the
physical desecration of the flag of the United
States."
And now the amendment has been sent to the senate for
final approval.
The American Flag has always been a part of my life.
Boy Scouts, High School ROTC, the son of an Army
Officer, The Navy. I remember carrying the American
Flag down the isle of our Sanctuary next to the
Christian Flag during Vacation Bible School as a kid
while everyone was singing Onward Christian
Soldiers. I have participated in many color guard
ceremonies where the U.S. Flag is paraded for everyone
to see. I have raised and lowered the flag numerous
time onboard a U.S. Navy Ship. I am heartbroken every
time I see the flag being burned at a demonstration.
However
My feeling has always been that the Flag
stands for freedom and one of our basic freedoms is
Freedom of Speech and Expression. Even though it
pains me to see the flag desecrated (I even get upset
when someone folds it wrong), I dont think the
constitution should be amended to take away one of our
basic rights as an American.
posted by Jason at 11:26 AM
2 Comments:
amen, baby.
although it's hardly controversial for a country to punish the desecration of that country's symbols, at the same time there's the whole freedom bit.
and of course, the tricky definition of "desecrate." my dad, realizing that the only approved way to dispose of a flag is to burn it (because it desecrates it to put it in the trash), jokingly suggested one time that he should go down to the street in front of the federal building to do so. being a federal lawyer, he decided against it. :-')
but in his sly way, he was on to something. what if *i* decide that *you* are desecrating the flag? too thorny, man. we've never had a national emergency with things the way they are.
barry
Exactly. Would someone go to jail simply because the flag was folded wrong? Maybe the flag was flown too close to a Muslim Temple, is that desecration? Too scary for me. I prefer to be heartbroken by the desecration than to live in a place where the desecration is not legal.
Post a Comment
<< Home