Flag Burners

[Joe Matt]

I'll be the first to admit that it's getting late for me, so I didn't read all the replies, but here's my belief.

The flag is very special to America, from the stories of how it was created, to the song and how it was still waving during the battle, to pictures and to giving it to the familes of those who have died fighting for us. Burning the flag is a statement that is VERY harsh and VERY strong, you don't do it lightly nor do you do it for fun, etc. Flag burning says one thing: down with the USA.

Simple as that.

But, if this turns into another flag burning thread, let me post this one thing to support my other belief that means more than the flag, the Constitution. During some stage shows, magicians Penn & Teller would go on a speach about the rights we have as Americans, and how we have the right to march down a street either to promote equality, or to shun it. Then they would symbolize something very important to me, they would wrap the US Constitution in the US Flag and then burn it. In the end, they went through the ashes, and found the Constitution still intact, because in the end the flag is a piece of cloth, and in the end, the Constitution is a piece of paper with words on it declaring the rights and freedoms of it's people, and that is stronger than ANYTHING else.

[mechanicalbrain]

So I've thought about this some more and something made me curious. I noticed a bunch of people felt dead set against flag burning, I'm not questioning those people, but what made me curious is what drove those people to those feelings. Ultimately as Billfred said the flag is a piece of cloth, so it's what it symbolizes that drives us. That made me wonder "what does it symbolize?" I'm pretty sure it's not the government itself, maybe some of the rights the government provides but not the government. I'm willing to bet, and if people have other answers I would love to hear them, it's the people we love and our way of life that the flag symbolizes. I think when people see someone burn a flag they feel it's an attack against that symbol. Since these symbols are something humans in general hold as extremely valuable it is understandable that we have such strong emotions associated.

If this is the case, it's important to remember that just because a person attacks something that holds strong meaning for us doesn't mean their target are those symbols. In fact while we may not agree with their method we might easily side with their purpose. All to often we see or read something and draw our own conclusions, us on CD are no different. If any of this makes sense then I urge those who posted that they were steadfast against flag burning not waver on that view but maybe try and understand the reasoning behind such actions. It's hard to disassociate an action with the meaning behind it but sometimes essential. The only reason I feel super motivated to post this is because it extends past this one topic and situation. Also I wanted to hear from people who have such strong feelings, what does it mean to you? I personally have trouble drawing meaning from objects and im trying to understand why it inspires people. Any insights?

[KenWittlief]

Simple: with our country and governement established and set up the way is it, our flag may stand for things like freedom and sacrifice

but what it literally represents is what America is: We the people.

The flag represents me, my family, my ancestors, my community, the people I work with.

There are 300 million people in the US, and there is one president, one admistration in authority at any given time. If someone wants to protest against the current president, the administration, or the government in general, thats fine with me

but the Stars and Stripes is not the flag of the government of the US, its the flag of the people of the US.

[Bill Moore]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

Simple: with our country and governement established and set up the way is it, our flag may stand for things like freedom and sacrifice

but what it literally represents is what America is: We the people.

The flag represents me, my family, my ancestors, my community, the people I work with.

There are 300 million people in the US, and there is one president, one admistration in authority at any given time. If someone wants to protest against the current president, the administration, or the government in general, thats fine with me

but the Stars and Stripes is not the flag of the government of the US, its the flag of the people of the US.

Ken hit the nerve here.

If you burn an image of the president in effigy, you are voicing protest against the policies of the current administration. People may disagree or find it a distasteful display, but the overall reaction is much less emotional.

However, if you burn a flag in protest, it is more akin to denouncing us as a nation. You belittle the sacrifice of those who have served and/or died to make and sustain this country. A sacrifice that we acknowledge and honor three times each year: Memorial Day (last Monday in May), Independence Day (July 4th), and Veterans Day (November 11th). You are making a statement that the world is better off if the United States did not exist.

Now the burning of the U.S. flag is not an illegal action (and certainly not in Canada by a Canadian citizen). But what has this person accomplished other than to try and impress someone else by bragging about it. Has he conveyed the cause of his displeasure to us? One of the great things about our population is we do listen to complaints voiced by others. We the people influence which policies we should be pursuing every time we step into a voting booth and select our representatives. If this young man would like to see our policies change, he needs to be more direct as to exactly what he protests.