« Of no import to anyone but me | Main | Can I make it any more obvious? »
June 23, 2005
Hero
The latest bit of stupidity floating around Congress is the Constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to make flag-burning illegal. As General McAuliffe might say, "nuts" to that.
The flag is a revered symbol of our country and all that it stands for. I would argue that as the symbol of our country, it would unfortunately be subject to desecration every now and then. But one of the ideals that America was founded upon was that speech, no matter how unpopular or ill-advised, could not be suppressed by the government. Like it or not, burning the flag is a form of speech. Sure it's disrespectful and probably rude, but half the stuff that people say nowadays is disrespectful and rude. I just don't see the need or point to make it illegal, other than what it really is: empty symbolism and cloying pandering.
Luckily, it looks like the proposed amendment won't make it out of the Senate. If you ask me, I think matters of protecting the flag should be left to people like Rick Monday.
Posted by oz115 at June 23, 2005 08:40 AM