Flag Burning. Free Speech or Abomination?

March 26, 2008

by CitizenSugar 73

Here's your picture worth a thousand words. What do you think?

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73 Comments

milosmommy 5 years

While I'll agree it is freedom of speech I personally find it offensive. I grew up in the American Legion and as a grandaughter of a veteran on WWII. My grandfather and the people I grew up around wouldn't even let a flag stay hung up out in the rain let alone burn one. But it is free speech and if someone feels they need to do it to speak they're mind than fine. I also have every right not to associate with people who would.

smoochiez 5 years

when i see that i cant help but actually wait for the UN to become more rich and powerful so that the spotlight on America dims down. so much negativity for everything America does, but when another country steps up and takes a bigger role in the world then thats when we would see less of THIS.

smoochiez 5 years

foxie 5 years

You know as well as I do that people who burn flags aren't saying "Wow!!! I love America so much! I'll celebrate by burning a symbol of America!" People who love America and want to celebrate living in America do it *respectfully.* Burning the flag is nothing but a slap in the face to soldiers and veterans. They gave you freedom and you can't think of anything better to do with it than burn the flag that they have fought for? So yeah, it's a total load.

foxie 5 years

You know as well as I do that people who burn flags aren't saying "Wow!!! I love America so much! I'll celebrate by burning a symbol of America!" People who love America and want to celebrate living in America do it *respectfully.*Burning the flag is nothing but a slap in the face to soldiers and veterans. They gave you freedom and you can't think of anything better to do with it than burn the flag that they have fought for?So yeah, it's a total load.

thorswitch 5 years

Yes, the flag is a symbol of the nation, but the government at any given time is the physical embodiment of our country. They are the face of this nation to the rest of the world, and they are the ones who make the decisions that decide what direction the nation is headed.The war in Iraq is not being fought by the Bush government, it's being fought by our country as a whole, whether we agree with the war in and of itself or not. The Bush government was elected by the people of this nation, and they represent what the current majority of the people apparently want. While I would not choose to burn the flag, staging a protest by burning pictures of George Bush (or other administration people) or other symbols of the Bush administration specifically, in my opinion, misses the mark.This holds true for many other policies as well - I pick on the war because it's the easiest. Any number of our current policies will continue into the next administration until or unless that administration decides to change them, making them policies of the nation as a whole and not just the specific government. I think that is why a lot of people do choose to burn the flag - because it *is* a symbol of our country and they are protesting what our country is doing in all of our names. I don't agree with their choice to do so and I don't like seeing it happen, but I can understand the logic behind it and am glad they have the freedom to do so if that's what they feel is needed.

thorswitch 5 years

Yes, the flag is a symbol of the nation, but the government at any given time is the physical embodiment of our country. They are the face of this nation to the rest of the world, and they are the ones who make the decisions that decide what direction the nation is headed. The war in Iraq is not being fought by the Bush government, it's being fought by our country as a whole, whether we agree with the war in and of itself or not. The Bush government was elected by the people of this nation, and they represent what the current majority of the people apparently want. While I would not choose to burn the flag, staging a protest by burning pictures of George Bush (or other administration people) or other symbols of the Bush administration specifically, in my opinion, misses the mark. This holds true for many other policies as well - I pick on the war because it's the easiest. Any number of our current policies will continue into the next administration until or unless that administration decides to change them, making them policies of the nation as a whole and not just the specific government. I think that is why a lot of people do choose to burn the flag - because it *is* a symbol of our country and they are protesting what our country is doing in all of our names. I don't agree with their choice to do so and I don't like seeing it happen, but I can understand the logic behind it and am glad they have the freedom to do so if that's what they feel is needed.

Michelann 5 years

What part of it is "a load"? I may not always agree with the message of people who burn the flag, but I'm still glad they have the right. The way I see it, any excercise of our constitutional rights is a celebration of those rights. Calling somebody else's opinions "a load" isn't a respectful way for you to celebrate your freedom of speech, but I still support your right to do it.

Michelann 5 years

foxie 5 years

Michelin, That's a load and I'm sure you know it. That's not a respectful way to celebrate anything, let's not make excuses like it is.

foxie 5 years

Michelin, That's a load and I'm sure you know it. That's not a respectful way to celebrate anything, let's not make excuses like it is.

Michelann 5 years

I think a lot of you have confused the issue here."What if we burned a flag not in protest but in celebration of the very freedoms that allow us to burn a flag?" -Penn JilletteBurning a flag doesn't necesarily mean you hate your country. The flag certainly is a symbol of this country, but it is also a symbol of the liberties that have made this country great. Burning a flag (for whatever reason) can be seen as a celebration of those liberties.

Michelann 5 years

I think a lot of you have confused the issue here. "What if we burned a flag not in protest but in celebration of the very freedoms that allow us to burn a flag?" -Penn Jillette Burning a flag doesn't necesarily mean you hate your country. The flag certainly is a symbol of this country, but it is also a symbol of the liberties that have made this country great. Burning a flag (for whatever reason) can be seen as a celebration of those liberties.

zeze 5 years

I think the flag is a symbol of the nation, not the government, their current policies, or their wrongs.Burning the flag (by Americans) is a symbol of hate for the nation, not for the current president and his policies. As Americans we should criticize and try to change the wrong to better the country, burning the flag does not do that. For example, I am not opposed to someone burning an image of a policy or a politician, but burning something that represents the nation in past present and future is not really free speech to me, its hate. But, because not everyone sees it this way, I guess those people can hide behind the protection of free speech, even though the flag represents that right they are burning.I can understand foreigners doing it as a sign of protest against government policies because when you are on the outside protesting another countries policies, a country you feel has wronged you, you don't stop to think of protesting politics by politician or policy by policy - outsiders see the final picture, but those of us on the inside know there is good and bad and we should know better than to stand against it all by burning the symbol that represents it all.

zeze 5 years

I think the flag is a symbol of the nation, not the government, their current policies, or their wrongs. Burning the flag (by Americans) is a symbol of hate for the nation, not for the current president and his policies. As Americans we should criticize and try to change the wrong to better the country, burning the flag does not do that. For example, I am not opposed to someone burning an image of a policy or a politician, but burning something that represents the nation in past present and future is not really free speech to me, its hate. But, because not everyone sees it this way, I guess those people can hide behind the protection of free speech, even though the flag represents that right they are burning. I can understand foreigners doing it as a sign of protest against government policies because when you are on the outside protesting another countries policies, a country you feel has wronged you, you don't stop to think of protesting politics by politician or policy by policy - outsiders see the final picture, but those of us on the inside know there is good and bad and we should know better than to stand against it all by burning the symbol that represents it all.

stephley 5 years

When I was younger, I'd make the protest, now, I think maybe I should start looking around.

thorswitch 5 years

Someone earlier asked what the difference is between burning the flag or desecrating other symbols such as the Washington Monument. The difference is that there's only one Washington Monument and only one Mount Rushmore and so on. There are as many flags as people can make. Desecrating a unique monument - for example, the flag in the Smithsonian that was the one Frances Scott Key saw and which inspired him to write the anthem would be much, much different than burning a flag you picked up at the local Wal-Mart, because the flag in the Smithsonian is irreplaceable. One of the great things about America is that the government is supposed to be "By the people" and "For the people" - founded on the principle of the majority ruling and the idea that if enough people can persuade enough other people that the current majority is wrong, they can form a new majority and vote in a government that will promote their ideas and reflect their will until such time as another new majority is formed and vote their new representatives in. Telling people who are so angry with the government that they find it necessary to make a statement such as burning a flag is an incredible violation of that concept. It denies the current minority one potential tool (albeit of questionable effectiveness) to express themselves. There are so many other methods of expression (see my list above, for examples) that people find offensive, that if we start outlawing them all, the US will cease to be a democracy, since there won't be any room for dissent. Think for a moment if you STRONGLY disagreed with the government - if they were passing laws you found abhorrent or felt the way the government was representing our nation in other countries, and you felt the only way to get your point across was to do something that others might be offended by, because you knew it would likely get coverage in the news and stir up interest in your cause. Would you feel that rather than making that protest and trying to convince others that they should take up your cause that you should just pack up and find a new country to make your home?

thorswitch 5 years

Someone earlier asked what the difference is between burning the flag or desecrating other symbols such as the Washington Monument. The difference is that there's only one Washington Monument and only one Mount Rushmore and so on. There are as many flags as people can make. Desecrating a unique monument - for example, the flag in the Smithsonian that was the one Frances Scott Key saw and which inspired him to write the anthem would be much, much different than burning a flag you picked up at the local Wal-Mart, because the flag in the Smithsonian is irreplaceable.One of the great things about America is that the government is supposed to be "By the people" and "For the people" - founded on the principle of the majority ruling and the idea that if enough people can persuade enough other people that the current majority is wrong, they can form a new majority and vote in a government that will promote their ideas and reflect their will until such time as another new majority is formed and vote their new representatives in. Telling people who are so angry with the government that they find it necessary to make a statement such as burning a flag is an incredible violation of that concept. It denies the current minority one potential tool (albeit of questionable effectiveness) to express themselves. There are so many other methods of expression (see my list above, for examples) that people find offensive, that if we start outlawing them all, the US will cease to be a democracy, since there won't be any room for dissent. Think for a moment if you STRONGLY disagreed with the government - if they were passing laws you found abhorrent or felt the way the government was representing our nation in other countries, and you felt the only way to get your point across was to do something that others might be offended by, because you knew it would likely get coverage in the news and stir up interest in your cause. Would you feel that rather than making that protest and trying to convince others that they should take up your cause that you should just pack up and find a new country to make your home?

stephley 5 years

That's it Mariner, this seems an odd topic considering there don't seem to be any recent reports of U.S. flags being burned at protests (I did find a story about a flag of Scotland being burned) - like maybe we should debate streaking or bra burning next.

buffyanne 5 years

I completely agree, menthadict. People so disenchanted with their government (any government) that they would burn the national symbols should find another country where they can live a life with less anger and resentment.

thorswitch 5 years

I haven't heard of a lot, lately, but given that we've just passed the 5th anniversary of the Iraq war and have now lost over 4,000 soldiers to it, it's likely that there will be an increase in anti-war protests (at least in the short term) and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see at least some isolated flag-burning happening at one or more of them.

MarinerMandy 5 years

I may be out of the loop, but is there a lot of flag burning going on in this country that I haven't heard about?

outtajo 5 years

Honestly, I've never understood why everyone gets all hot about this. People have the right to protest and the diverse opinions of our citizen is what helps shape, change, and progress our country over time. If someone were, say, burning down the White House, I wouldn't support that as an expression of free speech (obviously). That's dangerous and vandalism. But a flag is a symbol, nothing more. People have the right to not be harmed or libeled against. But there's nothing in the Constitution protecting citizens from being offended. I'm offended every day by our current administration's words, but they have the right to say them.

outtajo 5 years

Honestly, I've never understood why everyone gets all hot about this. People have the right to protest and the diverse opinions of our citizen is what helps shape, change, and progress our country over time.If someone were, say, burning down the White House, I wouldn't support that as an expression of free speech (obviously). That's dangerous and vandalism. But a flag is a symbol, nothing more.People have the right to not be harmed or libeled against. But there's nothing in the Constitution protecting citizens from being offended. I'm offended every day by our current administration's words, but they have the right to say them.

sashak 5 years

Ditto thorswitch

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