Flag Protection Anendment
By mastermind32
@mastermind32 (95)
India
March 30, 2008 1:00pm CST
Ok, So let's say people want to burn the American Flag or Canadian Flag or whatever. So a bunch of Senators try to create a Flag Protection Act, but the Supreme Court strikes it down as unconditional because Flag-burning is symbolic speech. What do you think? The Flag is a national symbol, I wouldn't advocate destroying the Statue of Liberty to make a point. Does Flag burning get you notice? How dangerous is it to our National morale or patroitism or whatever? Is this Act or amendment that they're trying to pass now just another attempt by The man to keep unpopular opinions away from public hearing? Hmmmmmm.........................
4 responses
@Galena (9110)
•
31 Mar 08
it's a bit of fabric.
there are more important laws to put in place than stopping people damaging a bit of material, which really doesn't harm anyone in doing so. tackle the real problems first, before worrying about a symbolic, but harmless gesture.
@ThePaintGuru (541)
• United States
31 Mar 08
Exactly. We live in a country without universal health care, in a disastrous war in Iraq, and we are entering a recession. Don't those seem like bigger issues to tackle?
@Galena (9110)
•
31 Mar 08
as someone from the UK I was shocked when I first discovered America has no National Health Service. it's the sort of thing you expect in third world countries.
it's a great comfort to know that if I have emergency surgery I won't have to find thousands of pounds to pay for it.
@ThePaintGuru (541)
• United States
31 Mar 08
As well you should be...we're far behind other wealthy countries, and are slowly unraveling all the good that social welfare programs, many of them from the New Deal, are doing for our country.
@casita (237)
• United States
1 Apr 08
Sadly, the U.S. is a country that just doesn't understand symbols and what they represent.
I, myself, was horrified when during the immigration protests awhile back news reports showed the U.S. Border Patrol burning a Mexican flag. Now, they are the folks whose task it is to protect the border. I would expect some decorum and respect from them.
I have no problem with folks wanting to exercise their freedom of speech, even if I disagree with it.
But I do have a problem with flag burning and with the removal and destruction of symbols that bear great meaning to others.
@ThePaintGuru (541)
• United States
30 Mar 08
I think you mean unconstitutional :).
There are already flag laws in place, although to my knowledge there isn't any penalty for breaking them. They specify how to store your flags, how to fly them, and what to do if they touch the ground (you must burn them). I don't know how much flag burning actually goes on in the US, but I don't think it should be illegal.
That being said, I think that denouncing an entire country, which is what you're doing when you burn a flag, is a protest born out of ignorance. It is important to recognize and preserve the value of any society, while working to repair its faults.
