flag burning
... the U.S. flag are considered forms of symbolic expression. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that this form of communication is entitled to protection under the First Amendment to the Constitution, but the nature of the protection has varied. The issue of flag desecration has been intensely debated and questioned in courts around the United States. Flag desecration is not a new fad. The nation’s flag has been abused in many instances throughout this century, often to express political dissent. The occasions for these protests have varied, and the motivation of the protestors has also been diverse. The incidence of flag desecration appears to be greatest in the United States during times of national stress, from World War 1 to the Vietnam conflict (Goldstein, 1994: 77). Defenders of flag desecration contend that they First Amendment allows free speech, and the act of burning or desecrating a flag is nothing more than expression. On the other hand, people who protest flag desecration feel that it is destroying a symbol of American unity that has been respected for over two hundred years. There have been many legislative efforts to protect the flag throughout history, including the development of statues that forbid desecration of objects that are considered esteemed. These statues were mainly created to maintain order and keep a state of peace in society, but they have often been contested and broken. One Supreme Court case that dealt with the highly debated issue of flag desecration was Texas V. Johnson(1989). During the 1984 Republican National Convention, a man named Gregory Johnson participated in a political demonstration to protest the policies of the Regan administration and some Dallas based corporations. While others chanted “America the red, white and blue, we spit on you,” Johnson...