Here's my two cents...sippy9cupJune 24 2005, 00:47:52 UTC
Yes, the flag stands for our country, soldiers, freedom, etc. Yes, it is disrespectful to fly it ripped up, at night, or in the rain. Yes, it is disrespectful to let it touch the ground. And yes, it is disrespectful to burn it (unless it is unfit to be flown and needs to be disposed of). However, the great thing about this country is that we DO have the right to burn it. When people burn the flag in protest, there are two aspects to think about. At the very basic level, they are destroying a fully-replaceable, (usually) cheaply made piece of fabric, bottom-line. At the symbolic level, they are recognizing and appreciating the rights the flag stands for by burning it as a symbol of protest against rights that have been taken away. If people are burning the flag, it is because they feel that a right they deserve because they live in this country has been taken away. They are burning the symbol of a government that may have gotten too self-righteous or forgotten them. Granted, when people in other countries burn it, it is usually with more malicious intent, and stands as a symbol of destroying the entire country, not just one part of our country that may have gone awry. And for those people in the U.S. that burn it in protest, it's clearly an effective way of getting attention brought to your issue. I wouldn't call myself a patriot, but I do love this country and the rights I have for living in it. To take away my right to burn a flag is like saying I can't speak out against my country if I feel it is doing something wrong. It's like forced patriotism, which is against everything the U.S. stands for. I say, let people burn the flag. If it offends you, do something about it, but don't take away their rights because of it.
Re: Here's my two cents...bizzaybiz5June 24 2005, 04:43:03 UTC
Dan, I agree with you 150%.
There are other ways to protest and get attention. Again, the flag has been around as long as other national emblems, and for Pete's sake we pledge our allegiance to it, and for the republic which it stands for... What are we saying to everyone else in the world when we burn it? We are showing the rest of the world that we are apparently as arrogant as they think we are. They see freedom that they would die to have, and they see that very freedom being abused with such acts. Know the difference.
I wouldn't call myself a patriot, but I do love this country and the rights I have for living in it. To take away my right to burn a flag is like saying I can't speak out against my country if I feel it is doing something wrong. It's like forced patriotism, which is against everything the U.S. stands for. I say, let people burn the flag. If it offends you, do something about it, but don't take away their rights because of it.
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There are other ways to protest and get attention. Again, the flag has been around as long as other national emblems, and for Pete's sake we pledge our allegiance to it, and for the republic which it stands for... What are we saying to everyone else in the world when we burn it? We are showing the rest of the world that we are apparently as arrogant as they think we are. They see freedom that they would die to have, and they see that very freedom being abused with such acts. Know the difference.
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