Is Flag Burning a Good Method of Expression of Political Views?

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Salmonburgher

I too dislike flag-burning and believe that those who do it are silly, at best. But, if you love that which our flag stands for, I cannot understand how you can feel as you expressed above.

The flag is a symbol of our nation. But, the nation was founded on a set of beliefs held deeply by our founders and by many of those who lived at that time (and today). They believed in the dignity of liberty for the individual.

To that end, they crafted a Constitution not to grant us those liberty but to protect us and to ensure that that liberty would not be taken from us without just cause.

In addition, that Constitution has one other purpose. That purpose is to limit the power of the General (Federal) Government.

The flag represents our nation. But, it is NOT our nation.

Our nation is in essence our Constitution and especially the first ten amendments. The Constitution is best understood, perhaps, by first reading the Declaration of Independence. Our founding fathers saw fit to state the right to free expression, particularly political expression, as the first of many important rights/freedoms to be listed in the Bill of Rights.

If a person or group feels strongly enough that our Federal Government has lost its way, there can be no doubt but that burning the flag is a strong statement of political expression, and thus is a highly protected form of expression.

It matters none at all that you or many believe that the act is disgusting. We agree on that point.

But, surely, an act taken to stifle/deprive another of his/her freedom to express his/her political thoughts is even more disgusting. Taking action to deprive others of their natural right / God-given liberty to express his/her ideas makes you no better than those morons who cause chaos to prevent and preclude some speakers from talking on certain university campuses in the US.

Someone above noted how wonderful our nation is... he/she stated that ours is a nation where you can fly the flag or burn the flag, however you wish to express your political opinion.

If you dislike that, perhaps you ought to move to Thailand. You can be imprisoned, there, for insulting their national symbol!

I feel this is the best post of the thread.

While I have long felt that the act of burning the flag in protest is protected under the Constitution, I also have found it a bit distasteful. I have to admit that the more of the protect the flag at all costs posts that I have read here have pushed me more to accept flag burning, because I am not all impressed with the thinking that is expressed by those who are so totally offended by it that they want to stifle freedom of expression.

[Unsettomati]

Protest in general attempts to make people uncomfortable. Sacred cows - such as the flag - are rather obvious targets. It works precisely because many people vent a spleen over it. If they didn't, no one would bother burning a flag.

Back to protest, the act itself constitutes a seminal event in American history. I am speaking, of course, of the Boston Tea Party. And that protest did not involve a group of people destroying their own private property but the private property of someone else (and not the British government, which was responsible for the hated taxes - but the British East India Tea Company, an entity that undoubtedly would have like to see no taxes at all on its tea, all the better for business). And today, a political faction celebrates that vandalism by calling itself the 'tea party' - and is comprised of some of the most vociferous opponents of people who destroy certain property that they private own.

Ironic, that.

In general, the strongest opposition to protests comes from those that think people should sit down and shut up and fall in line.

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

From the article:

"In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school administrators or teachers could not force students to recite the Pledge."

Originally Posted by phetaroi

That is irrelevant to what was actually done.

Quite right.

There was all manner of harassment and intimidation for failing to say the Pledge of Allegiance, just like there is for those who burn the flag.

Few parents read judicial reviews explaining Supreme Court rulings, and fewer still can afford the luxury of an attorney when their child is oppressed at school.

[Pub-911]

It is important therefore that those with the means for it pitch in to support groups that mount pro bono challenges to religious oppression in schools and across society as a whole.