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...majority required to ratify an amendment reading "The Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States," which was passed by the Senate judicial committee last Wednesday. The Senate was three votes short of a two-thirds majority last time the topic came around, but now the Senate may achieve the number required for passage due to the retirement of one die-hard opponent and waffling by some who voted against it the last time. Upon passage, the amendment would have to be ratified by at least 38 states and 49 have...
This possibility verges on the extraordinary because only 27 out 10,000 proposed constitutional amendments have ever been ratified. One might think that with the seriousness with which we treat the topic there are tens of thousands of extremist militia or political groups who go out each night and have flag-burning events. Not exactly. The number of actual incidents involving a physical desecration of the flag is paltry, and of so little interest to the public that the media does not publicize such occurrences...
Another part of what makes the whole topic seem so ridiculous and blown out of proportion is the commercialization of the flag. We Americans wear boxers covered with little American flags. Is that more or less of a desecration than burning the flag in front of the White House, which at least has a political motivation? Is the American spirit trivialized by those little toothpicks with American flags on them, that people use to serve hors d'oevres? One could make a case that both of these uses are offensive, and one could also argue that our country was founded...
...revitalization of such an old topic of debate reflects in part the anxiety in this country over the often ineffective and sometimes disastrous American involvement in the genocidal civil wars of Bosnia and Kosovo. Such wars imply an overarching instability not just in the world but in "civilized," predominantly white Europe, with which many Americans feel a strong affinity. These wars have also shown that the U.S. can't fix everything that goes awry in the world, and in fact, often makes the situation worse. While this is a blow to our national pride and foreign policy, nothing compares...
This isn't to say that the topic of flag desecration doesn't address important issues of free speech and how we view this country. Personally I believe that part of what makes our country great is permitting citizens to non-violently protest against our laws, our army, our elected leader. Our country is founded on the premise summarized by Voltaire as "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Burning the flag is a childish but far from unconscionable way to protest governmental action. Thus, I find the proposed...