“If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress

 who value the symbol more than the freedom the flag represents.”

Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-New York)

It is clear that Mike Fitzpatrick and Jonathan Last simply do not get it! 

In recent OpEds Congressman Fitzpatrick defended his recent vote to ban discretion of the American Flag as an inviolate symbol, arguing that “it is a beacon, a physical reminder that our nation will defend at all costs freedom and liberty” and Jonathan Last mistakenly equated flag burning with an attack on democracy and tolerance.  In so doing, they both fall into the values trap of placing more significance in its symbolism than in the civil rights the flag represents and his rhetoric takes on language similar to that of the extremist mullahs who would punish anyone debasing a Koran.

In typical beltway fashion, the amendment’s language is both unreasonable and unenforceable.  Amusingly, it would criminalize the “official” means for destroying a flag … burning it!  Further, the rampant commercialism in flag graphics and the ultimate disposition of the thousands of objects they adorn would present a formidable obstacle to any reasonable enforcement.

Absent is any attempt by these self-righteous politicians or their supporters to preserve the underlying principles on which our nation was founded and to which they swore an oath.  To the contrary, the flag’s symbolic value will be irreparably damaged and one of the unique political values it has represented trashed if this myopic legislation ultimately is enacted or becomes an amendment to the constitution.  As for reasserting values, no group, least of all Congress, has any legal or other mandate to act as America’s moral watchdog!

This pious assault on the Bill of Rights is apparently needed to protect the nation from the onslaught of a small handful of political dissidents and disaffected malcontents who choose to publicly set fire to the flag to protest their country’s policies.  Unfortunately, in their enthusiasm to protect their symbol they have forgotten several unique and important aspects of our fragile American political system.

  • While the will of the majority can set broad general guidelines for our society at large, the Bill of Rights ensures individuals are not disenfranchised from their inalienable rights by any tyranny of that majority.  The fact polls indicate a majority of Americans support this amendment is not a reason to enact it.
  • Freedom of speech, including a wide range of symbolic speech, provides every individual the unfettered right to express his/her opinions without fear of reprisal or retribution (subject to very limited restrictions such as yelling, “fire”, in a crowded public theater).  However, as with most rights, this precious liberty carries a solemn, frequently distasteful responsibility, obligating each person to respect the speech and even have to listen to the opinions expressed or observe the actions taken by others … no matter how hostile or repugnant such ideas might be to their personal beliefs, values and sensibilities. 

In their exuberance, and that of their fellow travelers, to don the cloak of patriotism, these advocates of a flag desecration amendment have lost sight of the inalienable freedoms and liberties embodied in the Constitution and Bill of Rights … those very freedoms and liberties Congressman Fitzpatrick is so eager to defend “at all costs”. 

The choice is clear; our liberties and free society can survive with or without the few flags which will inevitably be burned, with or without the amendment … but, absent the fundamental liberties and freedoms our flag now represents, it will become a hollow symbol.

For the record, the national threat against which the flag protection minions are trying to protect us is evidenced by a total of just THREE episodes of flag burning in 2006!

Rather that trying to end run the Constitution, members of Congress would do a far greater service to the American people if it took the time to actually “support and defend the constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic” … including the disturbing usurpation of power and infringement of civil rights by the Executive Branch … which represents a far greater threat to our freedoms than all of the disgruntled flag burners combined!