Flag Burning, For or Against?

[Brandon]

Would you like to see the flag burning amendment be passed or nullified? Why are you for or against flag burning?

 

[mtatum4496]

I am against flag burning in general. It is nothing more than a ploy that plays to emotions, like burning a cross in someone's yard. I don't care if you are talking about defacing the flag of a nation, of a state or province, or a church. There are more productive ways to air greivances, albeit less spectacular.

As for the amendment - that strikes me as a waste of time and energy too. We don't need another amendment to tell us how to behave - what we need is enough personal decorum to understand how to conduct ourselves in a manner that gets things done rather without the cheap theatrics. I say dump the flag amendment and move on to something that would do this country some good.

 

[dong]

Obviously the drug war has been too lucrative for the lesson to be apparent:

Banning it only reinforces the avenue of expression as a visible, inflammatory avenue for, as mtatum said, airing grievances. Not only will there be more burnings, but they will mean much more and gain themselves a solid niche, should this amendment be passed.

 

[berlinlife06]

I feel that the flag is only a symbol, and it represents something, but for everybody that something is different. I respect it, I don't think I would ever do something like burning a flag, but honestly, I prefer the flag burning, the name calling, all those actions that are more of a symbolic expression than someone going nuts and putting up a bomb somewhere and killing a bunch of innocent people. Soldiers fight for what the flag represents, but not really for the "flag".

 

[tater03]

Wow, what a great question. I personally never burn the flag. I just don't see what it accomplishes in the end. But I would agree that I would rather see them do that the some of the other things people could do. I myself respect our flag and what it means to ever want to deface it.

 

[FourBear]

I agree with berlinlife...if there is symbolic expression of discontent rather than physical manifestations...maybe flag burning isn't so horrible. Not that I'm condoning it by any means, but I think an amendment would be ludicrous.

 

[vicki2]

I'm against it just because it was how I was brought up. I completely understand, however, that banning flag burning might just incite more of it, but if given a choice, I'm against it. I like respecting the flag.

 

[vicki2]

I'm against it just because it was how I was brought up. I completely understand, however, that banning flag burning might just incite more of it, but if given a choice, I'm against it. I like respecting the flag and think that if you have an issue with the country, burning a flag doesn't do much. It isn't making a contribution to a solution at all.

 

[mamab]

I don't think I would ever burn a flag to show my disgust with the government. It's just not the way I was raised. However, I can understand how people MIGHT get to a point where they think that's the only way to prove their point. How's that for ambivalent.

Actually, I understand that some of our actions can be deemed "freedom of speech," and therefore are protected by law. However, I think burning a flag is just stupid. Of course, it might keep the Chinese flag companies in business for a while longer if more people did it.

 

[Guaner]

I am against the burning of the flag. To me, burning the flag is the equivalent of hating the country represented by it. Regardless of your disgust, it is a national symbol of the country you live in. Whatever happened to respect?

 

[kida]

I agree that burning the flag is an egregious symbol of disrespect for your country, and it makes me extremely angry when I see it or hear about it. However, as angry as it makes me to see that kind of thing, the U.S. is a country founded on free speech and the right to speak your mind. A lot of conservatives say there should be a law against it, but that in itself is not a conservative principle. Conservatives want the government to have less ability to interfere, not more. I think the better way to discourage flag burning is not to try to get the government to pass more laws, but to use our own rights of free speech to let people know why we think that it's an outrageous practice. If the majority of Americans express disapproval, groups would find it in their best interest not to alienate their potential supporters. Some people might not see this as a "strong" stance, but I think it's more in line with true American ideals.

 

[dong]

A lot of conservatives say there should be a law against it, but that in itself is not a conservative principle. Conservatives want the government to have less ability to interfere, not more.

Really? I guess that's one way of looking at it. Now would be a good time to explore the various spectra of political alignments- whether one is progressive or conservative as described by the axes of fiscal policy, social policy or the much murkier "sensibilities". I could argue that a push for "anti-flag burning policy" would be the end-product of the various social forces that act on some kind of "conservative nationalist sensibility".

If the majority of Americans express disapproval, groups would find it in their best interest not to alienate their potential supporters. Some people might not see this as a "strong" stance, but I think it's more in line with true American ideals.

I rather like this

The pitfall, however, is that some groups will specifically act against their own 'interests' by seeking to deliberately alienate the public. This will in turn provoke reaction and the cycle will go on. But forming some kind of coherent, united voice about flag-burning, if it's so important to the people, would be the ideal solution.

However, in such a large, fragmentary community, is this really possible? Or will other avenues have to be sought?

 

[kida]

The more important point may be not to end flag burning as a practice, but to let people decide who they want to align themselves with or not based on that group's ideals and practices.