Right to burn flag embodies free speech

When the Senate halted an amendment that could lead to a ban on
flag burning, the free exchange of ideas that our country is built
upon remained unscathed.

As U.S. citizens, we have the ability to question authority and
to express our beliefs no matter how extreme these beliefs may be.
As we approach the Fourth of July, a celebration of our country and
our freedoms, it’s all the more appropriate that we embrace
these freedoms.

To restrict all people from burning the flag inhibits the basic
right of free expression granted by the First Amendment to all U.S.
citizens, including those who wish to burn the flag.

We can’t deny that people find flag burning
distasteful.

Finishing debates on the issue, Senate majority leader Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., said, “Countless men and women have died
defending that flag.”

But the act is intended to be offensive. From the Civil War to
the Vietnam War to the war on terrorism, flag burning has been a
means to express dissatisfaction with our country.

We certainly hope the people in Congress love and respect the
United States. This gives them the right to be revolted by flag
burning. But it does not give them the right to ban it.

It’s reckless to ban any form of free speech simply
because it is unpatriotic. The beauty of this country is that
people are allowed to hold unpopular beliefs and to express
them.

Any attempt by Congress to make exceptions to the First
Amendment only weakens its meaning.

And while we suspect most people find flag burning distasteful,
it is ultimately a form of expression that does not harm
anyone.

Lighting the Stars and Stripes may hit onlookers in the heart,
but it doesn’t do any other damage. If we don’t allow
peaceful protest, people may resort to less peaceful means.

Those who support the amendment argue that flag burning is
unpatriotic. According to Frist, “Old Glory lost today”
after the vote, reported the Los Angeles Times.

But the very thing they want to protect ““ the symbol of
American freedom ““ is best protected by allowing it to burn.
If we want the flag to continue to embody the freedoms and rights
that our country holds so dear, we must embrace them for all people
and all forms of expression. As gut-wrenching as it can be, we must
not prohibit burning the flag.

This is not to say people should burn flags frivolously.

Wasteful expression of free speech trivializes both those who
have worked to protect our flag and those who have purposefully
exercised their right to burn it. But the right to expression
should never be revoked.

So we applaud the senators who voted against the ban on flag
burning. By their very vote against the proposal they are helping
to preserve liberty.

By denying this proposal, members of the Senate assert that
people cannot change the foundations upon which our nation was
built whenever they see fit. Congress must be more discerning when
determining what to alter in such a bedrock document that dictates
our rights as U.S. citizens.

As you picnic beneath the bursts of fireworks this Fourth of
July, do not forget the basic tenets our country is built upon. And
remember that, even though you might not like what everyone has to
say about the U.S., at least we all have the chance to say it.