A proposed constitutional amendment to allow Congress to prohibit desecration of the flag has fallen a single vote short of approval by the Senate.

The 66 to 34 vote Tuesday on the amendment was one vote short of the 67 required to send the amendment to the states for potential ratification as the 28th Amendment. The decision was the closest proponents of the initiative have come in four Senate votes since the Supreme Court first ruled in 1989 that flag burning was a protected form of free speech.

Guarded Optimism

I’m happy that this vote failed, but I’m alarmed that it only fell one vote short of passing. I also find it hard to believe that in this day and age, flag burning is the most pressing issue Congress has on it’s table right now. I mean, did they forget that little thing we started in Iraq? Maybe they should spend more time working on an exit strategy for that “issue.”

Getting back to the flag, burning a flag one of the simplest and most expressive things you can say about your displeasure with the government without having to say one word. Not only is it a form of free speech, sans the utterance of sounds, it’s total and free expression. How can we limit one’s right to express himself while he not hurting a soul?

One Nation, Indivisable

I fully understand the opposition and people who do not condone or wish the flag be desecrated. My grandfather was in WWII, and he fought for his country, and thankfully he came home as he left. Those people have a great affinity with the flag, and rightly so. They were proud serving members of their country. But, they fought for my rights. They fought for me to have the freedom to express myself without ridicule or prosecution.

However, just as you honor the flag for the reasons you hold dear, other’s may be dissatisfied with the country. They may not share your opinions or beliefs. They may not hold the current administration in high esteem. Saying that, burning the flag is the ultimate form of protest against one’s country. That isn’t to say you hate your county, as some would suggest, it’s to say that you are not being represented as you would like, and to express your displeasure you burn the flag in protest.

Anit-American, Hating, Muslim Fanatics

You don’t have to be a terrorist to burn the flag. You could be a Vietnam veteran, a school teacher, or someone fed up with GW. People in this country have always had the right to protest and assemble freely to show their displeasure on any number of issues. Burning a flag is another example of free expression, and should be protected.

And if they make burning a flag illegal, what constitutes a flag? Does it have to have 50 stars? 13 stars? What is the definition of a flag. What if paint red and white stripes on a sheet, and paint a blue box in the upper corner, and write “US Flag” in white letters inside the box. Is this consider an American flag? Can I burn this without worry, even though my intention is the same as it would be if I bought a flag in a store?

Keep Your Mouth Shut And Your Ears Closed

If a law of this nature passes, I think you end up going down the proverbial “slippery slope.” I’ve even had one person suggest (Xbox gamertag will be withheld here) that maybe you shouldn’t be able to criticize the President in times of war. I mean, that is totally insane, especially with the current President who has us in a perpetual state of war. You wouldn’t be able to criticize him for 8 years! The argument is that it aides and comforts the enemy, i.e., it gives them bigger balls to harm us. So in the interest of not being negative in times of crisis, you take away our freedom to express our concerns? Not how democracy works!

If I recall correctly, our founding fathers were displeased with the way they were being “controlled” by the powers that be. Should they have followed English law? The old saying that an unjust law is not a law that should be followed never rings more clearly.

Red, White And Bruised

I’ve never burned a flag. However, if they government takes my right away, be rest assured I will, and in fact use loopholes within the text to get around the law. Whatever the definition of a flag is, I’ll be sure to change the “flag” in the slightest, as not to be a flag, but a work of art. I will the proceed to burn it. So in this case, by stopping free speech, the government, in effect, has made me want to burn a flag when that desire was not there, or had not manifested to such a degree that I would consider burning it. Pass the law, and you change all that, and made a criminal out of me.

And by the way, do you know what the proper way is to discard an old, aged flag? By burning. How ironic, and how typical of this administration.

This article was written by Bryan Los on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 1:28 PM and is filed under In The News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.