Once again there is a flag burning debate in Washington. The House passed a potential amendment to the Constitution with over 60% of Representatives voting for its passage, and, as in the past, the Senate will decide whether it gets through.
No American enjoys seeing the Stars and Stripes burned. But, in my mind, as disgusting and disrespectful an act as I personally find it, I need to agree that it is a right of our citizens. While the flag is our ultimate symbol around the world, the more important piece of the puzzle is the fact that Americans can protest in any way we choose, as long as it does not directly hurt someone. I find KKK marches equally disgusting because of what that group stands for, but in this day and age of a war on terrorism, we still allow this group that practiced terrorism on our land a chance to have their day in the public’s eye. Being able to speak out or protest is as fundamental a right as each one of us has, and creating amendments that begin to limit that right need to be considered with great care. One other thing to consider, when is the last time anyone has seen an instance of flag burning in the U.S.? It is common overseas, but I cannot recall anything here for a very long time.
I encourage those who read this to share your views, whether for or against such an amendment, because it really is an important decision our leaders will be making.
1 comment:
epi,
You bring up a number of good, practical concerns and micro-details that would need to be addressed in real legislation, especially what defines a flag. I agree we would likely see a number of flag burnings if such an amendment actually passed the Senate (I did read a brief report that a nose-count of the Senate shows it will fall short once again). Hopefully Congress will move on to other things.
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