Rally 'round the Constitution Flag-desecration amendment wouldn't consecrate a symbol

HearldTribune.com
Southwest Florida’s Information Leader

Article published Jun 20, 2004

Election-year votes on important but politically inflammatory matters of principle are dangerous. This close to Election Day, United States senators and representatives may feel less able to vote their conscience and more inclined to pander to popular passion.

Because of that, we'll watch the anticipated vote in the U.S. Senate on a proposed constitutional amendment, which would ban flag desecration, with more than a little trepidation.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court declared laws prohibiting flag desecration unconstitutional, the Senate has turned back several attempts by the U.S. House to endorse an amendment. But it's always close.

If it ever passes, this amendment would mark the first time the Bill of Rights has been abridged. And the Constitution would be weakened to protect something that needs no protection.

In the majority opinion in the 1989 ruling that declared laws punishing flag-burning an unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment, Justice William Brennan wrote, "We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents."

Flag-burning -- the type of desecration the amendment's proponents most want made illegal -- is a rare form of political protest. It is a crude gesture, and so offensive to so many, that it is counterproductive to anyone actually attempting to positively influence people. But effective or not, it can be a form of political dissent, and tolerance of dissent is one of the hallmarks of a strong democracy.

Ironically, if the anti-desecration amendment is added to the Constitution it will undoubtedly prompt more flag-burnings than have occurred in the 15 years since the Supreme Court declared flag-burning a protected form of political speech.

The flag is an important symbol. But that symbol is not diminished when someone destroys a piece of cloth in protest. In fact, tolerating such protest reaffirms the commitment to freedom and democracy that makes the symbol meaningful.

Dictatorships, not democracies, jail political protesters.