"America's Flag"

Detriot Free Press
June 14, 2005

Editorial

Today is Flag Day. The Fourth of July is not far off. That means it's the season again for members of Congress to stand up for the American flag even as they attempt to rein in the precious rights for which it stands. Constitutional amendments to ban desecration of the Stars and Stripes have been offered again in the House, where similar measures have passed, and in the Senate, where they have failed, but by decreasing margins.

The act of burning our national symbol, repulsive as it is, has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court as an exercise of free speech protected by the First Amendment. Trashing the flag is a form of dissent, not unlike the Boston Tea Party, an attack on a symbol of government. The Founding Fathers, some of whom participated in the protests that ultimately led to war against British rule, understood the importance of allowing civil dissent in a democracy, and the much greater danger of suppressing it.

Robert Grey Jr., president of the American Bar Association, is the son of a 20-year U.S. Army veteran.

"While one should be wary of anyone who espouses his or her own patriotism in public debates," he wrote in a recent essay, "I take a backseat to no one when it comes to my love of this country. ... I know what it means for people to sacrifice in the service of their country. It breaks my heart to see someone destroy the preeminent symbol of the nation for which my father so proudly served.

"But make no mistake: He, like the thousands of brave men and women who fight, die and sacrifice across the globe, did so not for the fabric of a flag, but for the Constitution and the freedoms that flag represents."

The American flag was officially adopted 228 years ago today. It has waved proudly since, while occasionally being trampled, shredded and set afire. The nation it represents has not been weakened or even threatened by those acts. If anything, witnesses to them are inspired to greater patriotism.

As Grey wrote: "Amending the Constitution to allow Congress to prohibit desecration of the American flag would do far more harm to our nation than would any person who might burn a flag."

Congress ought to get that, and true patriots in Washington should be able to explain it to those who have been pushing so long for this unprecedented and unnecessary restriction on America's freedom.