Standing Up For Freedom: The Case Against a Flag Burning Amendment
As a first generation American, I still feel my soul stir at the sight of our country’s flag. But as someone who has a special appreciation for the rights we are given in this country, I am also deeply worried about a wrong-headed movement now afoot in the U.S. Senate, a movement that would for the first time in our nation’s history change the Constitution to abridge freedom of speech.
Except for the failure last century of Prohibition, our Constitution has never been amended to deny freedom; only to extend it. But now the Senate is poised to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to make flag desecration – flag burning – a federal crime.
Flag burning disgusts and angers all of who love this country. Our flag is a powerful representation of both our rights and the blood shed to preserve them. But this amendment would desecrate our Constitution to protect a symbol. No symbol, regardless of its value, should ever be held in higher regard than the principles it represents. The best way to honor our flag is to preserve and protect the fundamental freedoms it represents, not to change the Constitution to deny them. Doing so would do more to dishonor the flag than any protestor with a match could ever do.
Flames can destroy only the fabric of the individual flag in a person’s hand. They cannot change what that flag represents, and they cannot change what generations of Americans have sacrificed for and celebrated since our nation’s founding.
The attempt to ban flag burning has failed many times over the past two decades, but unfortunately this year the Senate is perilously close to pushing the bill through. As proud Americans who love our freedoms, there are three reasons we all need to act loudly, clearly and quickly against the effort.
First, this is exactly the wrong message to send to a world in which we are trying so tirelessly to promote freedom and democracy. Ever since 9/11, Americans have been sent to fight in the name of the protections and freedoms we enjoy at home and that serve as examples to the world. This is not only a war of arms; it is a war of ideas. Our embrace of freedom of speech sets our system apart from non-democratic governments. Dissent is not tolerated in tyrannies; but it is an essential element of our democracy.
Second, a constitutional ban fundamentally violates the goals and beliefs of our founders. As James Madison once stated, amending the Constitution should be reserved for “great and extraordinary occasions.” Relatively infrequent incidents of flag desecration deserve to be despised, but they do not require us to take this enormous step toward weakening our Constitution.
Third, it is unnecessary. The majority of the incidents cited by proponents of the amendment would be punishable under current law. Persons who engage in flag desecration that involves stolen property, vandalism, violence or imminent danger, or breach of the peace, are subject to arrest and prosecution under applicable existing laws. As General Colin Powell has said, “I would not amend that great shield of democracy to hammer a few miscreants. The flag will be flying proudly long after they have slunk away.”
At best, this proposal is simply an election year diversion from the real issues facing our country. At worst, it marks a profound and unwelcome change in our society and culture by conveying the message that we fear, rather than cherish, our freedom of speech. It is time we stand up for our flag by speaking up for the freedoms and ideals it truly represents.
