Do you agree with the "right" to burn the American flag?

Question

Arguments?

Answer 1

I find it to be a disgusting display. I look at it this way, when you burn the flag, you burn the embodiment of the nation that gives you the right to do it. So if you burn the flag, you are saying you don't agree with the rights your country has given you, and you should be beaten to within an inch of your life. Then when you are all healed up, we beat you again.

Just because you have the right to do something, doesn't mean you should do it. Find another way to protest. It's incredibly disrespectful. Especially to all those who gave their lives to defend and protect ALL OF US.

And since I seem to have offended a few people, I will also add this. If I ever see someone desecrating my beloved flag, I will, as God is my witness, make sure that the next thing that is burned is the animal with the lighter. That will be my display of Freedom of Speech and Expression.

Answer 2

As long as the person burning it owns it, and isn't otherwise violating any local fire ordinances.

Look, what does it mean when someone burns the American flag? The flag is just a symbol, so the act is just a statement of something. It could mean a lot of things.

I just wonder what the people burning the flag because there aren't enough government subsidies would do if groups started protesting those same subsidies by burning the flag.

What would happen if a veteran's day parade was led by ex-soldiers in uniform burning flags because of the government's lack of response to illegal immigration?

What if there were a hundred people burning flags marching in a Christmas parade to protest the ACLU being allowed to force the banning of Christianity but not other religions from public view?

What if the local PTA marched on the local school board burning flags to protest subversive textbooks being used to teach their children?

What if American Patriots stole the idea of burning the flag to protest Congress propelling this country into socialism?

I just wonder if they'd hear that statement.

Answer 3

The Koran is a religious and holy document. Answerer above is free to flush it if he wishes. The talk of the Koran is pretty ridiculous as those answerers above can look at the Koran however they want without fear of prosecution. That is just a ridiculous comparison made by folks who have not given this any real thought...quite small minded. The flag represents so much to different people. Burning it is a symbolic form of speech that is protected. I sympathize with those who burn it, but would never myself. What makes this country great is the fact that we have these freedoms. Is that so hard for people to see? If we lived in a fascist regime or a place like Syria or Iran, we would not be able to have this kind of symbolic protest. Like the famous quote that really sums up the American ideal: I may disagree with what you are saying, but I will defend your right to say it until my death. THAT is the American way. Anyone who doesn't like it should move to Syria or some other place where free speech is not protected.

Answer 4

Do I think it should be illegal to burn the American flag in America? No. But I would not protest it if it were. Freedom of speech is Never absolute and Americans should decide if burning the flag is unacceptable..

Do I think it is Right to burn the American flag? No.

And yes old flags are burned because that is better than putting them in the trash..come on you know that is not what Glen is talking about!

Answer 5

I personally would not do it. It is speech though, and I value the first amendment more than an actual flag.

Also I've never thought that the debates around the issue (like having an amendment against it) were that important since it doesn't happen a lot.

Seriously, when was the last time you saw someone burning the American flag in America?

Answer 6

I agree you have the right to and dont support a constitutional ban on it.

I also think that if you have the audacity to burn the flag you should get your butt out of this country. The flag doesnt stand for a specific president or a specific law. The flag stands for the US Constitution and it represents all the people over the years that have died to give you that freedom to burn that flag. Burning the flag is a slap in the face to those that fought for our freedoms and its an insult to the Constitution. If you have so little respect for either then you should trade your citizenship with someone willing to die to get here and will really appreciate what they stand for.

Answer 7

Some say that the symbol of a country can't just be a flag, but it has to include an individual burning that flag in protest.

There is noting in the constitution that guarantees freedom of expression.

Those who would burn the American Flag in protest, where would they draw the line? The White House is also a symbol of America. Would they also advocate burning it down in protest? If they maintain that an individual burning the Flag is a symbol of the country, would somebody burning that individual in protest also be acceptable to them?

I would say, along with another poster, if you so hate the country that you would burn it's Flag, that should be the very last thing you before giving up your citizenship and leaving the country.

If you/re unwilling to do that, then you are a hypocrite. The message you send is this:
"I don't hate this country.
"I don't hate the freedoms it provides.
"But I'm a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.
"I not intelligent enough to express my displeasure about (whatever) in any other manner..
"And you have to let me because this is a free country. So I don't have to grow up and be responsible for my actions."

Answer 8

The reason why VFW's burn the American flag is simply because that flag is not longer fit to fly and actually the VFW perform a cermony before they actually burn the flag.

As for the "right" to burn an American flag, it is a very sticky issue. People burn the flag and claim freedom of expression, however I feel about it and others feel about it there is nothing that says that it is illegal to burn the flag.

Answer 9

To many people, only a few special interests control America at any one time. Burning the flag could represent a rejection of what America has presently become under the rule of those special interests, and not what America used to stand for.

Let me present a hypothetical. Imagine everything good and dear about America has been squelched by a special interest totally opposed to those ideals, but who has taken control of the country. This special interest takes evil actions against anyone who would threaten their authority under the name of the United States -- In this situation, the flag of the U.S. no longer represents what it used to represent.

You might imagine in that scenario Americans wanting to revolt, burn the flag and retake the government. These people still share the same ideals as the generations before the takeover; but it is only the symbol of the flag which has been bastardized by corrupt influences.

A better argument of course is that if you were to pass a law banning flag burning, on what policy ground would it rest?
That Congress is allowed to proscribe actions deemed "traitorous" to the country?

And guess what kind of actions are proscribed as "traitorous" the next time the party you oppose gets in office... You always have to consider the implications of the future with your decisions of the present.

Answer 10

There is a huge difference between burning the flag, and having the right to burn the flag, or any flag or book.

Answer 11

On one hand, isn't burning the flag a form of freedom of expression?

On the other hand, it is an insult to the country itself and however you think America needs to be improved, if you really love this country and sincerely want to make it better, then burning the flag and all it stands for is surely going too far.