Burning Flags

For the opinions I’ve had and voiced, and for the statements I have made, I have been called many things. Among the things I have been called: unpatriotic and un-American. While this gets under my skin, as I’m sure it would almost anyone, the most upsetting incident was when I was told that if I didn’t agree with the government’s policies I, and others like me, need to just get out of the U.S.

Comments and attitudes like this are all too rampant in America, especially nowadays. It’s a real shame, because this country was built on principals which include letting every individual voice their opinions, even if they are misinformed, undereducated, or their oppinions are unfounded. I have been in the wrong a number of times – I will willingly admit that. But even if someone is the wrong, about anything, under no circumstances is such criticism necessary or even appropriate. America’s history has designed this country to be one of free-thinking and allowance of individual opinion, but this is not what I, and others like me, have encountered. Not only is it very hurtful to hear things like this, it also makes people very uncomfortable visiting places where they know they might be such criticized again – a friends house, for example, or even a site such a this.

Though it happened just over two years ago, that experience of being told to move if I didn’t agree with American policy still lingers in my mind. Usually it stays in the back, out of sight and out of thought, but still pops forward to the front on occasion, usually completely at random.

I was at a party one of my friends used to throw at the end of every school year, where we burned a fair portion of our left over homework and made a show of throwing the rest into a massive, green recycling bin. I honestly don’t know how we got onto the topic of politics, and I completely understand where the people in my company would disagree with me, but I still cannot understand why my friend’s mother would feel the need to tell me to leave America for my opinion.

Somehow, we had gotten onto the topic of an amendment that would make the burning of American flags illegal. Perhaps one of the guy who were there, friends of our hosts older brother, mentioned it and I, not being very heavily involved in the conversation between my friends and having taken an interest in this topic, got involved in that conversation. I said something along the lines of, “I don’t think that they should make it illegal to burn the flag – unless the flames somehow cause property damage, the people burning it aren’t hurting anyone, and they’re expressing their opinion about something in doing so.”

As should have been expected, this was met with fierce and very angry opposition. I really can’t say why I didn’t expect this then, but I didn’t. I certainty expect it now, and wont be surprised if I get some flaming comments on my opinion of this subject.

I tried to defend myself, and at the moment wasn’t entirely sure what to say. I wasn’t then and still am not used to be so viciously opposed, to the point that it feels like I am being verbally attacked. The conversation behind me, in which the rest of my friends were participating, grew quiet as my friend’s mother’s voice got louder and louder. It got even quieter as they realized that her every growing words were aimed at me, sitting in the grass beside the camp fire a couple of feet from her, suddenly seeming to tower in her lawn chair, shadowy against the setting sun.

Stumbling stupidly over my words, I really did try: “The flag is just a symbol for America, though. It’s not actually hurting America or American people…” She cut me off, saying that there is no excuse for burning the American flag. It is, after all, a symbol of our country, what it stands for, and our unity as a nation. Well…as far as that argument goes, I would like to say the following: we are not very unified anymore, now are we? But that’s an entirely different subject.

Once again, I tried to stress that it is just that: a symbol. It isn’t the World Trade Center and they aren’t killing many, many innocent people. They’re just burning a symbol, trying to express their dissatisfaction with what it represents and –

But that is immature, childish, and crude. It is inappropriate and should not be allowed, and if they disagree so much with American policies and ways of life, they should just get out of the country. For that matter, if I support them burning the flag, I should just go, too.

Deeply upset as I was, I tried to move away from her, to dive back into conversation with my friends, which had been started back up by one of the girls who didn’t want everyone staring at us as they were. She kept throwing her words after me, though, just not letting it go until I got up and went inside, my eyes stinging with embarrassment and shame at having been yelled at so viciously in front of all my friends, and not even by own mother. I left her and everyone else around the fire in the deepening darkness to cut off her loud voice, saying that I was thirsty, and did anyone else want some Sprite?

My friend came in a few moments later to find me lingering around the refrigerator, not having even gotten out a soda yet. I didn’t want to go back outside for fear of the yelling starting back up. “I’m sorry about my mom,” my friend told me. “When she gets started she doesn’t want to stop.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Unfortunately, I cannot locate all the research I had found previously on the amendment and I recall it taking almost a week to compile and verify all my research – if anyone reading this has any information on the amendment, please share it. I initially did the research after the argument happened, which I will recount in a moment, and I wrote an article on the amendment stating my opinion and reasoning for it. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have a copy of that article any longer, either. Luckily for me, my opinion on the matter isn’t based in the wording of the amendment. What it is based on is the idea of symbolic speech.

Symbolic speech is expression through action rather than words. Symbolic speech, as an expression, should then be protected under the first amendment. This, anyway, is my line of thinking. I strongly believe this, and this is what I was trying to convey to my friend’s mom. This is also what earned me the stinging remark described above. It should be noted that I do not agree with burning flags, I do think that it is a childish way to express a thought or feeling that can very easily be depicted in art or described through writing and speeches, and I would never burn an American flag. I wouldn’t burn a flag not because I hold the flag to any significant value, because I do not. I just feel that my opinions are better expressed elsewhere and that burning a flag would be a waste of my time. But, that does not mean that I feel that anyone should restrict the people who want to express their feelings on “what America stands for” through the burning of flags should be punished for doing so. Like I said, it is a symbol and symbols are constantly employed to express something, whether it’s through the building of, depicting of, or destruction of said symbol. The flag, in my opinion, should be no different. My feelings on this are similar to my feelings of abortion: I do not think that is right and would never have an abortion myself, but it is not my place to tell another woman that she can’t have one.

Further more, differences of oppinion is what progress is based on. If everyone shared the same ideas, the same thoughts and views on everything, very little to no progress would ever be made. Even worse a scenario is a world where people did have differing thoughts and opions, and were to afraid to share them. In that world, society would forever remain stagnent. This is why it is vital to form your own opinions and express them, whether it be through a blog such as this, or even burning a flag to make your point. There is no reason to supress speech, symbolic or otherwise, because the opinion being expressed is in opposition with yours. In fact, there is every reason to do exactly the opposite and encourage free thinking and free expression.

Hopefully I have expressed everything that I wanted to express and I have expressed it well and in such a way that is understandable to others, not only myself.

In conclusion, I want to encourage anyone who has an opinion to express it, whether it fall in with the societal norm or not. Furthermore, everyone who has an opinion has the right to feel emotionally, mentally, and physically safe to express it. If someone disagrees, they, too, have the right to express that, and they should, but there is no need to try to hurt someone in doing so.