Word: flags
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Lawmakers looking for a way to protect the flag have a lot of searching to do if they hope to cover all possibilities. An amendment or statute simply outlawing desecration of the U.S. flag is not going to do the job. Potential loopholes and tricky questions abound. For instance...
...there is only one official U.S. flag, would it be permissible to burn an unofficial one -- say, an obsolete model with 48 stars? Since a flag is, by usual definition, made of fabric, should a wooden representation of it be protected? What about little lapel pins or cuff links with flags on them? What if somebody publicly stomped a piece of such jewelry...
...custom, the U.S. flag is often called "the red, white and blue." Should the nation prohibit the abuse of any red-white-and-blue decoration? Should it be a crime to burn red-white-and-blue bunting? Or foreign flags of red, white and blue? Incidentally, should "the red, white and blue" be considered a flag when represented in black and white...
What if somebody burned one of those decorative wind socks that are fashioned with a blue field of white stars and red and white stripes to suggest the U.S. flag? A crime...
What if vulgar protesters wiped the ground with a flag designed exactly like the U.S. flag -- but colored orange, brown and green? Should that be an offense? Should making such a flag equal desecration...