Should Flag Burning Be Made Unconstitutional?
... behind the red, white, and blue, and who fought and died honorably defending the flag to their fullest. Even if a person at a certain moment in time feels that it would be appropriate to burn a flag to express his or her opinion, this person should put into respect that the flag he is about to ruin also represents how he won his right to live in such an amazing country and enjoy the freedoms it represents. Many people express that flag burning allows a person to express his or her right to the freedom of speech. If that is true, then wouldn’t burning a flag be more of an act then a speech? Not only does burning the American flag disrespect the country in numerous ways, but also, it proves to be an intentional act done so with the hopes of provoking an uproar from the public. Cal Thomas brings up a point where he mentions that, “Those who would ban flag burning have placed the American flag in a category and context that is idolatrous” (121). Banning the burning of a flag in no way means that the flag itself is idolatrous; it means that you’re burning away a symbol of freedom, prosperity, and the emotions of thousands who respect, fought, and died for that flag to fly. In the country we live in today, the term freedom of speech has been blown way out of proportion. "Everyone agrees that sexual harassment and libel aren't free speech, that trashing my house is not the way to disagree with me, and that graffiti is not only ugly and insulting but illegal" (Hernandez 123). Why should the government try its hardest to protect Americans and not protect something that symbolizes each and every one of those same people? When does the government step in and start stopping the outrageous events that continue to occur because they are so-called protected under the first amendment? If the burning of a flag, dishonoring not only the United States but all Americans, is not important enough for the government to step in and control, then what truly does the government do to protect the nation's rights as a whole? The public has even expressed their concern wondering if we begin to limit our “freedom of speech” then where do we stop? In Don Feder’s essay, “An Amendment is not the way to honor the flag”(126), he brings to one’s attention this point when he says, “When a holocaust survivor sees a swastika arm band, does he feel more or less psychic pain than the war veteran at a flag burning? Should we ban Nazi paraphernalia” (126)? In this example, is Feder actually trying to compare the burning of the American Flag to a symbol that represents the millions of helpless people who died at the hands of the Nazi’s? It is shocking that someone could even fathom placing these two items in the same category. With there being many different ways that a perso...