At the end of this month the Senate will once again take up a measure to prohibit the burning of the United States Flag. While this has massive support from many members of the United States population, there is a bit of hypocrisy in what could occur if this is passed and even larger problems that could snarl the legal system for years to come.
The actual proposed constitutional amendment, as stated from an article in the
Wichita Eagle that:
...the U.S. Senate is gearing up for a vote later this month on a one-sentence constitutional amendment granting lawmakers the "power to prohibit the physical desecration" of the flag.
Lets look at this a little closer in trying to figure out why this proposed amendment actually will have even more negative consequences then just preventing the burning of the American Flag.
Brief History
In looking at this the History of the United States Flag and our country is long, with many Supreme Court cases holding that the burning of the flag (or any other use of the flag for that matter) is a protected right of free speech. Each one of these Surpreme Court Cases have uphead this right, but have also began the demand for protections of the flag:
Texas v. Johnson 1989 - This court case null in voided all State laws that prevented the desecrating of the American Flag.
United States v. Eichman - This decision null in voided a recently passed congressional legislation protecting the American Flag. Once again it was determined that it was a free speech right.
While there have been some other decisions nearly 100 years old, these have been the catalyst for what we are dealing with today.
Hypocrisy
If the Senate does pass this Amendment to the constitution it will most likely pass the necessary number of states within the 7 year timeframe so that it becomes ingrained into our constitution. All 50 states have passed resolutions supporting such a constitutional amendment so it is once again the Senate that stands in the way of such a restriction of free speech.
In such case that it would pass, the potential problems this creates is much more then anyone will realize. While preventing the burning of the flag is a noble goal, the restrictions this amendment would place would go farther then that. Once again, look at the wording:
"power to prohibit the physical desecration"
So while that does cover flag burning, what about those people who wear the stars and stripes as outfits? What about those whom put those bumper stickers on their cars? Even taken to the extreme, this would even have the potential to prevent political candidates from using the American Flag in their campaign stops.
The problem with this is you can't say you are fine with one "desecration" of the flag and not with another. As such there would be way to much intrepretation to this amendment that citizens, law enforcement and even politicans would not know where the boundaries were and would have to wait years for the legal system to create the right boundaries for such a constitutional amendment. This reason alone should make the Senate and citizens of the United States think twice.
Simply put, you cannot place a restriction on the desecration of the flag without defining it within the Amendment.
Symbol or Meaning?
Even if you can get past the point above, you have to look at the core of this debate (which can be read in the Wichita Eagle article). This boils down to what is the true meaning of the United States flag. Some people would say it represents all those who have died protecting those rights that we all hold dear and that is a wonderful intrepretation of what the flag means, but it also includes many other means as well.
We also know that the United States flag is a representation of who we are and what we believe in. The constitution of the United States is what our flag represents. The freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, etc. Even if the flag is desecrated by an individual, if that individual is doing it as a way to express a belief it is within their right and should in no way be construed as an "attack" on or a "belittlement" of those who feel differently about the flag.
We all (all 280 million Americans) are represented by the Flag of the United States and the more each one of us feels that we can look up to the flag with pride, the more power the United States Flag becomes as a symbol of the rights we hold dear.