a colossal waste of time

I've been meaning to finish my rant on "the one," but I keep getting distracted. This is another one of those distractions.

Every few years (usually in an election year, coincedentally), congress decides they'd like to once again discuss the possibility of creating an ammendment that prohibits flag burning. And every time I hear about the discussion, it pisses me off. I mean, it's obviously neccessary. You know...'cause people burn flags all the time. To paraphrase an Eddie Vedder rant I heard years ago, I can't even go to get a cup of coffee and a paper in the morning without running into a flag burning. I took for granted that most clear-thinking, intelligent people would see the idiocy and inherent contradiction behind the proposed ammendment, but apparently not. Apparently, some of my otherwise rational friends are all for the ban. So I figured I should come here and tell you all why they're very, very wrong.

When I was discussing the issue in my living room last night and mentioned that I thought congress was wasting time by even discussing the bill since flag burning happens so rarely, my Limbaugh-loving roommate immediately responded with, "Well then they should stop discussing and pass it." Obviously, that's not the way our legislature works. Even if everyone was unanimous about wanting a bill, there would still be a ton of nuances to discuss and it would take time to figure out the proper wording among other issues. Beyond that, since the law would be going against the previously established Bill of Rights, it would have to be an ammendment rather than just a federal law. If I still remember my ninth grade civics correctly, all new ammendments have to be voted on by the American public before they can be ratified. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like holding a vote on that or adding it to the ballot would cost quite a bit of money. So there's your first argument: it's a huge waste of time and money to create a law prohibiting something that, in this country at least, is an extremely rare occurence.

But even if our legislature could instantly create a suitable new ammendment for free, it would still be a horrible idea. First of all, it's not in the government's job description to create a law like that. The government's job is to protect its citizens from physical harm and loss of property. You can debate about the existance of social programs and whether they fall under that category or not, but either way, it's not the government's job to legislate morality and/or keep people from being offended. "Well maybe it should be," my friend responded. Sure. That sounds lovely, doesn't it? We'll have niceness police patroling, making sure nobody swears at old ladies or lies to their mother or gets drunk and acts like an idiot. We'll create our own little Utopia. Problem is, who decides what's moral? While people with similar moral beliefs as you may be in power right now, who's to say they will be in the future? What if one day, someone decides that your behavior is immoral? My friend chrisbaker pointed out that, if we have a liberal president and/or legislature sometime soon, it's very possible that they could pass a "hate speech" law. Again, it sounds nice, but it could be trouble for the conservative Republicans who are all behind the flag burning law. Preachers who tell their congregation that homosexuality is biblically wrong could find themselves in jail. People who protest abortions could be accused of hate crimes. Doesn't sound like a world most conservative Christians would want to live in.

Above everything else, there's one reason to denounce the proposed flag burning law that seems so obvious to me that it amazes me that anyone could ignore it. Clearly, any law that prohibited burning the flag would be a huge violation of the first ammendment. Not only do Americans have freedom of speech (which includes nonverbal communication), but we also have the right to protest. Those rights have been guaranteed to all of us since pretty close to the beginning of this "grand experiment." Generally, I hate it when people tell me that America is this or America stands for that. America is flawed, just like every other country, and our founding fathers weren't the perfect heroes we sometimes make them out to be. But if there's one thing that this country has always stood for at least at its heart, it's that freedom of speech. This country was built by protestors. People like Thomas Payne and Samuel Adams took to the public squares and made their opinions about the British government known. They didn't let some misplaced idea of patriotism stop them from seeking changes and eventually seeking a new government all together. Telling people that they can't speak out, that they can't protest in whatever way they see fit, as long as it doesn't harm someone else, goes against the spirit this country was founded on. Outlawing flag burning would be in direct opposition the very things the flag is supposed to stand for.

And you know what? A flag is just a piece of cloth. It's a symbol. And that's what people do with symbols. They use them to make a point. The few people in this country who burn flags generally do so because they're trying to make a point, because they have something to say and want attention for their cause. Maybe you don't think it's the best way for them to make their statement, but so what? Stupidity isn't illegal. My previously mentioned friend asked me if I'd feel the same way if people were out there burning Bibles or crosses. I told her that yes, I would in fact feel the exact same way. If someone was burning a cross in my lawn, I'd call the cops and get them to leave. But if they want to do so on their own property or in a public place with a permit, then they're more than welcome to as far as I'm concerned. What people choose to do with pieces of wood, paper and leather that they bought and paid for is none of my business and honestly doesn't concern me. There's nothing magical about a Bible or a cross. They're just symbols and symbols only have power if you allow them to. That doesn't mean that I don't understand why people are offended by stuff like that and it doesn't mean I don't understand why people are offended by flag burning. It doesn't mean I think the people who burn flags or Bibles or crosses or whatever else are right or clever for doing so. What it does mean is that I know that my opinion on whether their causes are just or their methods are the best doesn't matter at all. It doesn't matter whether they're burning a flag to protest a war, support the draft, or celebrate a world cup victory. It doesn't matter how much or little thier actions offend me or anyone else. I may not agree with every protestor out there, but I have to support their freedom of speech if I expect anybody to support mine.