Us Flag: A Symbol Worth Protection Essay, Research Paper
The Flag of the United States of America:
A Symbol that Requires Protection
Most people have at one point in their lives looked up at the American flag beckoning in the zephyr on a light, clear twenty-four hours and thought about how lucky they are to populate in the state that lies beneath that flag. And when you see those & # 8220 ; wide chevrons and bright stars & # 8221 ; beckoning on the bow of one of our states baronial naval ships, you can? t aid but experience proud of all those who have come before you and given their lives so that our lives might be better. And most all of us have besides seen footage of that glorious flag being burned by those who are so grandiloquent and chesty that they feel they have the right to ptyalize in the face of this great state. Even though I believe that those people have the right to state and demo what they believe in peaceable mass meetings, but firing the Flag of this great state violent, incorrect and should non be allowed to go on.
The Flag is the ultimate symbol of our state, democracy, and of all the people who have sacrificed their lives so that our freedom may be protected. Anyone who serves our state ( policeman, military members, and political figures ) and passes off, has the Flag of our state draped over their coffin with the brotherhood at the caput of the coffin, over their left shoulder. During the funeral service, the Flag is folded and presented to the married woman or female parent of the deceased. Every individual clip the American Flag is burned in protest, the nationalism and pride of the individual under that Flag is violated. Worst of all, the households? memories of their boy, girl, female parent, male parent, hubby, or married woman who served our state is burned with it. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy, all these people and 1000s more have been buried in this mode and are disgraced every clip fire is put to the Flag.
Not merely does firing the Flag shame our state? s hero? s memories, it besides disgraces the ground that they died and what they died for. A individual being buried in this traditional manner normally died because they were protecting our state, either from foreign enemies such as in the World Wars, or domestic enemies such as bondage and racism. These people gave their lives so that we ( including those who burn flags ) could populate in a free state. By firing the flag, they show the ultimate ungratefulness for those lives and tongue in the face of the freedom and democracy they died for. Because of these brave people? s forfeits, the United States of America is a free state with the highest criterion of life in the universe. What if our soldiers hadn? t fought Germany and Japan and alternatively merely protested what the other states were making? Two racialist authoritiess would now cover most of the universe and finally would assail the US at place. We owe our sires and all those who came after them a immense debt of gratitude, and we should hence non fire the really symbol of all they did for us.
After sing all this, many people still believe that they have the right to fire the Flag so that they may hold their voices heard, and that that right is protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution. There are two major jobs with this belief, though. First, by firing the Flag, you make so many people so angry that they won? T listen no affair what the dissenters are stating. This is because they know that they wear? T like what the dissenters are making and hence wear? T want to hold anything to make with what the dissenters are stating. Second, if you read the first amendment carefully, you can see that it really doesn? t give the right to people to fire the Flag. What the First Amendment really says is, & # 8220 ; Congress shall do no jurisprudence esteeming an constitution of faith, or forbiding the free exercising thereof ; or foreshortening the freedom of address, or of the imperativeness ; or the right of the people pacifically to piece, and to petition the Government for damages of grievances. & # 8221 ; I wholly agree with what the First Amendment says because it is really of import for the people of this state, or any state, to be able to protest against something the authorities may be making incorrect. By holding that right, the people can hold their positions heard and can alter unjust Torahs and policies. This freedom to voice your sentiments does non include the combustion of the American Flag, nevertheless. The amendment specifically says, & # 8220 ; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble. & # 8221 ; Fire is the violent decomposition of molecules into more simple elements and can barely be considered peaceable. And besides what fire really does, it besides has really violent intensions in our society. In our civilization red is normally associated with immorality which originally derived from the destructiveness of fire which is ruddy. And in colonial America, towns such as Salem, Ma
ssachusetts would fire enchantresss at the interest because they were purportedly evil. The simple fact is that fire is destructive and can non be considered peaceable, but this applies merely to assemblies. If that was all the First Amendment said, it could be interpreted that the person could fire the Flag if the wished because there is no mention to the person. But the First Amendment goes on to state, “and to petition the Government for damages of grievances.” Here, both the person and the group are refereed to since both can petition the Government. The definition of a request is, “a grave invocation or petition to a superior authority.” “Solemn supplication” means a profoundly serious supplication or petition while firing the flag is an hideous act that is used to do a point heard, but is ne’er really used to earnestly bespeak that something be done. Proper ways to petition the authorities would be to: peacefully protest, make lists of grudges, travel on work stoppages, or boycott things, ECT. Burning the flag merely boots dirt at people and serves no existent intent in bespeaking or demanding action.
Burning the Flag is a symbolic act of aggression against our states? values, which were summed up best by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence when he wrote, & # 8220 ; We hold these truths to be axiomatic: That all work forces are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Godhead with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, autonomy, and the chase of happiness. & # 8221 ; The symbolic act of force towards out values are merely the first measure towards existent force. Jimmy Carter one time said, & # 8220 ; Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease. & # 8221 ; In the instance of Flag combustion, this would intend that if we were to allow these people get off with this symbolic menace of force, shortly it could distribute and finally take to existent force. For illustration, expression at Hitler? s Germany. Anti Judaic sentiment started with merely the decimation of Judaic symbols and hate-filled addresss, which led to the formation of the getos and finally to the ill-famed concentration cantonments. This shows how symbolic menaces of force can finally take to force and devastation.
Besides those who think that it? s their right under the Constitution to fire the flag, there are those who feel that if they go out and purchase a flag, it is their belongings and have the right to fire it if they wanted to. After all, graffito may be a awful offense, but that? s merely because it? s disfiguring person else? s private belongings. The job is that while you may hold bought that Flag with your ain money, it? s still non your flag, it? s your state? s flag. It wasn? T you who labored your full life to make the state that the Flag represents, nor was it you who gave your life so that the Flag could be. The Flag being burnt is George Washington? s, Thomas Jefferson? s, Abraham Lincoln? s, and all those who strived to do this state a better topographic point and to maintain it safe.
But what if you own a edifice and you want the tear it down? You? re allowed to rupture it down every bit long as you do it safely, so why shouldn? T you be allowed to rend or fire the flag that you bought every bit long as its done safely? The truth is though, that if the edifice you own happens to be a historic edifice, you most likely either won? T get the licenses required to rupture down that edifice, or the populace will come out in force to halt the devastation of the landmark. So while you may have the edifice, in some instances you still can? t tear it down because of it? s importance to other people, merely like you shouldn? T be able to fire the flag because of it? s importance to your state.
So non merely is firing the flag vastly disrespectful to those who made this state possible and unconstitutional, it? s non even your flag to fire. Burning the flag of the United States of America is a show of force toward our state and everything we hold beloved. By firing the flag, that individual is stating that the peace and freedom our sires worked so difficult to make should non be and it can easy be inferred that if person? s positions are so strong that they would ache the symbol of our state, those positions might be strong plenty to ache the state itself. By firing the US Flag, Flag burners destroy the really symbol of democracy and freedom thereby demoing that they are against those qualities that make our state great. And if they feel so strongly that they must fire the Flag in order to pull attending to their cause, who? s to sake that terrorist act with the combustion of edifices won? T be far behind.
Bibliography
Work Cited for:
The Flag of the United States of America:
A Symbol that Requires Protection
– Wallis warfield windsor, James B. Simpson? s Contemporary Citations. Politicss and Government of the World: Jimmy Carter Columbia University Press, 1994: 55
