By Dana Milbank
The Citizens Flag Alliance, a group pushing for the Senate this week to pass a flag-burning amendment to the Constitution, just reported an alarming, 33 percent increase in the number of flag-desecration incidents this year.
The number has increased to four, from three.
The naive among us may have trouble appreciating how four flag-burning episodes would constitute a constitutional crisis. But the men and women of the Senate, ever alert to emerging threats, are on the case.
Ya know, I don't think I've ever met anyone who was pro-flag burning. But I have met many people who were against limiting freedom of expression including flag burning.
I've heard a lot of people say things similiar to "Burning the flag dishonours those that fought for it." but it seems to me that eroding the rights and principles that they fought to protect dishonours their sacrifices and memory far more.
No soldier died for the flag in the same way no Christian fed to the lions died for two intersecting pieces of wood.
Isn't the symbol less important than what it represents? Then why erode what the symbol stands for in order to protect the symbol?
I was watching CSpan's morning show the other day and they were taking calls about the issue and they had two people call in on the Republican line that both espoused a viewpoint that I hadn't heard before or thought of which kinda went like this, "I am opposed to a constitutional ammendment on flag burning because its idolatry."
another two, from the same phone line, shared this opinion," I think we should ban burning of the flag as long as the flag was made in America. 97% of all American flags are made in China shouldn't American's be making American flags?"
And you know they both have really good points.
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