In the Supreme Court Case of Texas v. Johnson, I couldn't imagine ruling in favor of Johnson. Johnson had burned a flag in protest of the Reagan administration policies. If Americans begin to disrespect the symbol of our country and our freedom, how will other countries, especially our enemies view us?
I personally feel that if you want to live in America, and exercise the rights that you have, you should have more respect for your country. Burning an American flag is an enormous slap in the face to the countless people who died fighting for the right that you are abusing. It is one thing to exercise the freedom of speech and it is another to abuse.
Knowing the amount of lives that were taken in order for you to be able to burn a flag, you should at least have the decency to not burn the symbol of them. People to this day are dying in order to protect the rights that you feel so privileged to.
Clearly I have an extremely biased opinion to this topic, and in my class discussion others were removing themselves emotionally and looking at it as a right to petition. For some reason, I just cannot remove my feelings from this, and feel that the law should have favored with Texas.
This is a key question: Where to draw the line between free speech and abuse. The court draws the line at imminent violence. And I personally like Justice Kennedy's statement that "the flag protects those who hold it in contempt."
ReplyDeleteDP