Should We Burn Our Flag?
Some say yes. Some say no. What do you say?
Since I have been pushing my readers, family, friends and everyone else I know, or have yet to meet, hard to be a part of my new book 20/20: A Clear Vision for Our Future, I thought it would be interesting to give you a glimpse of what is in the book. The following is an excerpt (still unedited) from Chapter 5 of the original manuscript entitled “The Fabulous First.”
One of our recurring characters, Ron, is speaking. (Would you like to be one of our additional patriots discussing these issues in my new book? Would you like to elaborate on or discredit this account? Would you like to join in on the fray?) Warning, this book has a sharper edge!
Do you agree or disagree with Ron? Do you have a different take on flag burning or any other issue? You can tell your story, by being part of the narrative. Or you can allow me write the narrative using your name as a character in the story.
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Well, yea. Look at the cover. It has George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night. Picture perfect.
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Finally, an author who brings you solutions, instead of problems.
Americans have lost faith in their overreaching federal government. “We the People” don’t need to be overregulated or have their taxes misspent. Americans are victims of a crumbling economy, high prices and stagnant wages. They view government as bloated and politicians as corrupt.
They do not trust the leadership at any level. They see politicians of both parties as self-centered narcissists whose only objective is re-election. The author is like you, with one principal difference and 20 reasons for optimism. His “Vision” of America is “clear.” It is a vision of the Constitution and America the way it could be, the way it should be. The author’s eyesight is twenty-twenty.
EUGENE STEFKO
Bill:
I think that you will agree that the US Supreme Court has made some ludicrous decisions during our lifetime. Some of their logic is so convoluted that it is mindboggling. Any time that a decision is made that is in direct conflict with natural law it should be apparent to any critical thinker that it is a bad decision. Many of the court’s recent decisions fall into this category and will/should eventually be overturned. As far as the ‘flag burning’ decision is concerned, under the US Constitution we as American citizens have free SPEECH not free ACTIONS. How can the burning of our flag (an action) be construed as speech? It cannot and therefore must be addressed by our legislators to pass a law to make that ACTION illegal. Yes, they have tried in the past but maybe with the new conservative controlled Senate and House of Representatives we can pass a sensible law that will be signed by our newly elected president.
Justin Elkin
Hey Bill,
Ron’s my guy but I don’t agree with all of his argument here. I hope I can assist you without actually writing myself into the narrative. I trust you’d know how to do all that if need be. There seems to me that there is some cognitive bias associated with Ron’s service and there is bias on the ACLU’s part displayed with there persistence to burn the flag with impunity. Why in the world is such a thing being brought before the Supreme Court of the United States to begin with?
The ACLU needs to understand that burning things is not a peaceful form of expression. One who willfully burns something is performing an act of violence on whatever it is being burned. Fire is a cause for alarm to anyone that knows fire burns.What do we think most people would think of someone who decides to burn Malcolm X’s work in public because it says “blue-eyed devils” in it? There must be something wrong with them or they couldn’t have researched his whole life, right?
People like Ron ought to see that bringing the law down for desecrating the flag does nothing for the Constitution of the people themselves without patiently considering the matters at hand. Patiently because history is a convoluted mess just like a lot of people are. It’s one thing to be endearing to certain symbols and quite another to forget that “Ceremony is not civility; nor civility ceremony”, to quote Poor Richard, no matter how many hours of flag etiquette one has performed.
Luckily, the Supreme Court does patiently consider the matter. Free speech is important not only for the sake of what is right in ourselves but also to discover and “weed-out” what is wrong in ourselves too. To be lighthearted, couldn’t we consider flag desecration like stabbing at a voodoo doll? Lol.
Until soon
Dick Reynolds
I’m trying to create a dialogue where some voices that are never heard can be heard through my characters. Thanks for commenting.
Dick Reynolds
No, I don’t think it’s OK to burn the flag. I think it’s a hateful act and it angers me whenever I see pictures of anyone doing this as an act of protest.
However, since the Supreme Court has ruled that it’s not against the law, what can you do about it? Have our dysfunctional Congress pass a law that prohibits it? You can probably guess that such a law would give the ACLU another cause to champion and shift the whole problem back to the Supreme Court to think about. Wonder if the court will have a 9th justice by then?
Anonymous
My comment is simple on burning the flag of the United States of America that so many brave men and women fought and died to protect.
If you hate our symbolic flag so much that you burn it, go the hell to some other county. I suggest moving to Syria and join ISIS. Burn their flag and see what happens. They will bury you in two pieces. That is if they bury you. They would more then likely not bury you so everyone can come by and piss on your head. I agree with Ron but I like my approach handling dumbass flag burners.
tom Lutz
“You can’t yell fire in a theater unless there is actually a fire; it’s the law”
Why can’t there be, why shouldn’t there be, a law that disallows burning the flag, the symbol of our freedom for which so many of our people have died to protect. If you don’t like what it stands for, the most logical solution, and a very easy solution, is to move to a country that agrees with what you are bitching about, and acts accordingly. We’ll even let you take your money with you. But you won’t do that because you want your freedom to bitch, about what you no not.
Next to my disgust at burning the flag is my disgust at all the various renditions for singing our National Anthem. So many of these so called singers, seem to think that standing out there on the gridiron, or wherever, is about them (look how I can sing it in falsetto, I can even yodel as certain places, etc). Trust me, it’s not about you. For me its that you can’t sing the Anthem as it is written. Take some more singing lessons and come back when you can sing it correctly.
Linda D. Martin
There is already a law on the books against flag burning, needs to be in forced. Although, I believe it should be a stricter penalty.
Bill Muckler
Thanks for the comment Linda. You are correct.
Connie Ross
I am just an ordinary citizen, not a constitutional scholar. I have never served in any branch of the Military but am forever grateful to those who have served, defending my freedom for which our flag represents so much. I agree with Ron, in this article. Free “Speech” is protected by the Constitution but i do not believe that “Acts” of Destruction of National Symbols of Our Country should ever fall under “Free Speech”. This article was very thought provoking. I am hopeful that with new Supreme Court Justices to be put in place, this will be revisited.
Bill Muckler
Thanks for the comment Connie. The government has been taken from the people by the elite. They now decide what they want and those of us with common sense are to be forgotten.
Anonymous
Burning the flag is a non-starter. I will never support this under any circumstances, regardless of the leftist ACLU and their minions. This disgusts me to no end. I hope and pray no one ever does it in proximity to me….
Bill Muckler
Thanks for the comment. Stand by your principles.