That the flag-burning issue should ever even have arisen is shameful.
That it has become a perennial issue is a travesty.
Leftists want to burn the American flag because they hate the U.S.
Rightists want to criminalize burning the flag because they worship it.
Patriots revere the flag, because the flag symbolizes Freedom!
The freedom to live without government interference or oppression
is what this nation is supposed to be all about - and that includes freedom
to express one's views - especially unpopular views expressed in provocative
ways - like burning the American flag.
This is so patently obvious that it is maddening to once again be faced
with pseudo-patriotic drivel from lost-their-way fanatics who would destroy
the meaning of America under the guise of preserving it!
Imagine burning the national flag in the countries of Adolph Hitler, or
Idi Amin, or the Ayatollah Koehmeini, or Mao, or Saddam Hussein, or Momar
Khadafi, or Pol Pot, or Mussolini, or Senator Joe McCarthy.
The one thing our nation has to offer above all others, and the one
thing that has drawn so many to our shores is the freedom to be yourself.
Different Strokes for Different Folks! It's often no more than a difference
in culture. In some countries, someone looking at you while they scratch
their ear is assumed to mean they are questioning your manhood. In other
lands the A-OK sign means "Fuck you!". But obviously, one can make those
gestures without meaning those things. The expressor has the right to define
the meaning.
Flying the American flag on Memorial day would strike most people as a patriotic
thing. Burning the American flag in a protest held by our enemy in time of war
would strike most people as traitorous. But what about using the flag as an
emblem on your military uniform? or your Texaco uniform? or decorating your mouse-pad?
or as a design for a swim-suit? or underwear? or your business stationery?
or to advertise a brand of Tampon or Sex Toy? As in many things, the extremes
are relatively easy to define, but the area in between gets rather slippery.
But as all good Americans know, the price of Freedom is Tolerance - tolerance for
other people's different strokes - otherwise, how can you possibly expect other folks
to tolerate your strokes?
It is for this reason that for many years our family has had a tradition on the 4th
of July. Along with the sparklers and rockets and rousing music, we all gather round
and reverently burn an American flag - in appreciation and celebration of the right to do
so.
How about your family? Why not have them adopt a new tradition this 4th of
July? Let us celebrate the real meaning of Independence Day!
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