We Need a Constitutional Amendment to Protect the...

We Must Fight for the Constitutional Amendment to Protect the American Flag Free speech and the First Amendment rights do not give people lisence to desecrate a symbol of pride and freedom. It is not all right to protect those who let it burn, lighting up the sky with their hatred. It definitely is not acceptable to insult the men and women who fight every day to protect this nation by burning the symbol of their labors. Therefore, it is crucial that the Supreme Court pass the amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag of the US. When people see â€Å"Old Glory† flying, the experience should take their breath away. From the Omaha beaches in Normandy, where over three million soldiers stormed the German Nazis, to Iwo Jima, where†¦show more content†¦The flag of the United States has carried the same pride and symbolism for almost two-hundred and thirty years. Millions of American men and women have died to protect what it symbolizes: the freedom and rights of everyone who claims that flag. Moreover, it stands for the people who gave up their lives to defend this country. Yet some disrespectful people still defame that symbol with impunity. In outbursts all over the world, people burn, spit upon, or defile the American flag. This is the same as going to Arlington National Cemetery and spitting on the graves of our war heroes. It is tantamount to telling a soldiers mother that her son who fought to protect others died in vain. When a soldier, a policemen, a firemen or other officer dies, his or h er family is given a flag to console and honor them. When people defame it, they are insinuating that it is worthless. Flag desecration has been occurring for many decades. Finally in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the burning of an American flag was a protected form of free speech. How can the burning of the national symbol be protected by the constitution, when the forefathers who forged it were so devoted to that flag? If George Washington or Thomas Jefferson saw his flag desecrated as a form of free speech, he would be outraged over the audacity and disrespect of the offender. Although many people believeShow MoreRelatedThe Supreme Court Of The United States1140 Words   |  5 Pagessacred. As a nation, we must pick our fights and the hills we die on. It will not and never should be considered treason to burn the flag, however there is, like with most things a catch twenty-two. Publicly and privately the burning of the flag is accepted as freedom of speech, but once this simple gesture turns into a hazard we must act. President Trump and conservatives may view it as weak, but a system of penalties or citations would be the correct form of punishment. We should follow the leadRead MoreFlag Burning In America Persuasive Essa Essay example1314 Words   |  6 Pages 2014 Instructor Benjamin Perlin The American Flag can be seen in many public places. You see it in schools, government building, stores and hanging in our homes. Those stars and strips are a symbol of freedom to many people across the nation. But is also represents civil liberties that became the pillars this country was founded upon. Flag Burning should be legalized because it allows those who feel disenfranchised the freedom of speech, the Constitutional right to protest and in many importantRead MoreFlag Burning - a Persuasive Essay1044 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom of Speech: Flag Burning Flag burning has been one of the most controversial forms of nonviolent protests. It is often linked with the Middle East and Hezbollah with depictions of Arabs against President Bush burning the American flag. Americans are intimidated and threatened by this action, but that does not make it illegal. Supreme Court rulings have upheld that peaceful flag desecration is a form of political speech that should be protected by our Constitution (Flag Burning Myths). Read MoreFlag Desecration Essay5209 Words   |  21 PagesFlag Desecration The issue of flag desecration has been and continues to be a highly controversial issue; on the one side there are those who believe that the flag is a unique symbol for our nation which should be preserved at all costs, while on the other are those who believe that flag burning is a form of free speech and that any legislation designed to prevent this form of expression is contrary to the ideals of the First Amendment to our Constitution. Shawn Eichman, as well as the majorityRead MoreGregory Lee Johnson950 Words   |  4 PagesLee Johnson lit the American Flag on fire. Why would a man disrespect a symbol such as the American flag, that represents freedom, liberty and democracy? Was he protected by the constitutions first amendment? The Supreme Court answered all these questions we had by voting in favor of Johnson. Johnsons intentions were only political, and he as the freedom of speech. The Supreme Court was correct on this decision on letting Johnson go, since he was protected b y his amendments, and no matter whatRead More The Flag-burning Debate Continues Essay examples1186 Words   |  5 PagesThe Flag-burning Debate Continues      Ã‚   Nazis captured Jim Rogers. He was routinely beaten and given barely enough food to survive. During the time he spent in a World War II prisoner of war camp, he managed to keep his sanity by scraping together bits and pieces of colored cloth in order to make an American flag. As his fellow prisoners began to die, it was his American flag which provided him with a sense of identity and gave him the inspiration to keep living.    It is no wonder, thenRead MoreThe American Flag: More Than Just a Piece of Cloth3674 Words   |  15 PagesThe American Flag is the most widespread symbol Americans have. It took a disaster to make me realize how important it is. I would always wave the flag in a parade or on the Fourth of July, but I never really stopped to think about what I was doing. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 are what changed my view. They caused me to reflect about our country and the value of saying, â€Å"I am an American.† After September 11th, there was an explosion of patriotism. Flags were bought and hung everywhereRead MoreDesecration Of The United States Flag1821 Words   |  8 Pagesprotestors to burn or disrespect the flag, than to allow the government to repress our birth rights by banning desecration of the flag. Deemed offensive by many citizens, and a form of symbolic speech by others, the constitutionality of flag desecration has been in question since the late 1800s. D esecration of the United States flag is constitutional, as a form of symbolic speech and protected under the First Amendment, even though many citizens do find it offensive. The flag has been a symbol for the UnitedRead More Flag Burning and the First Amendment2123 Words   |  9 Pages   Ã‚   Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his standRead MoreEssay on Proclaim Your Freedom of Speech – Burn a Flag!2195 Words   |  9 PagesProclaim Your Freedom of Speech – Burn a Flag!      Ã‚  Ã‚   This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours (quoted in Smith 87). This statement by Woodrow Wilson summarizes the debate over a proposed amendment to outlaw burning of the American flag. Is this symbol of our nation too powerful to be defiled in our collective