So I have been thinking on this whole flag burning
issue and all the things it could imply. Now a lot of
people right now are saying that there are more
important issues at stake and something so trivial is
a waste of time. Believing such is really losing
sight of some very key changes happening in our nation
right now. Being a strict conservative, and currently
serving in Iraq, I was surprised to find that I am
actually appalled that the House approved a ban on flag
burning.
It has been well established that there are limits on
free speech. For example, one cannot scream "Fire" in
a crowded movie theater. That is based on public
safety and a need to maintain order. Now burning a
flag can defiantly lead to disorder and injury,
especially when some pissed off war vets curb stomp
the flag burner. However someone may burn
the old "Stars and Stripes" for many reasons.
You could have someone burning the flag on some TV
show to shock and disgust American viewers--hell,
people watch reality television almost as a form of
masochism anyways. Someone could burn the flag
because they are an acid-dropping, tofu eating
communist that hates the country that allows him to be
so liberal-minded. It could be some dumb college kid
that never worked a real day in his life who's trying
to strike back at "the man." But you know what;
there are others who might burn a flag or two.
Maybe it's a war vet with a lot of dead buddies who
is pissed off that we are starting trade relations
with Viet-Nam. Maybe it's that family that spent
thirty years working its ass off to buy a home and is
now told Starbucks can take it away from them for
another high priced coffee shop. Heck, it could be a
born again Christian down in Arizona pissed off that
the Feds aren't doing enough to curb illegal
immigration. As many reasons someone might burn a
flag to show hate for America, there are as many to
show love for the nation.
Burning a flag can be a stupid publicity stunt; a
statement made by an idiot who has no idea how good he
has it, or it could be someone showing true dismay
that the Government has failed to protect the rights
of its people. The flag is a symbol of all the dead
who gave their lives for freedom. Indeed, it is a
symbol of those very freedoms itself. Setting the
symbol on fire can be an apt ways of saying those
freedoms are in peril of being lost.
All of the constitutional rights we have in this
country are supposed to work hand in hand to support
the American people's God-given freedoms. Even
the conservative-minded, nuke-loving, church-going guy
I am is a little creeped out by what
is happening here. I can really see the so called
"slippery slope" happening here. Right now you are
being told you cannot set a flag on fire to protest
the government.
Given the right circumstances, like say a
large riot at a protest, the government might place
rules on when and where you can meet. What happens
when you are told you are no longer able to meet in a
group if it's to openly criticize the Government? If
you or your children have grown used to losing one
form of free speech, will you notice another going
away?
