Preview

The Pros And Cons Of Flag Burning

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
728 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Pros And Cons Of Flag Burning
Fifty one white stars, thirteen red and white stripes should not be near the line of fire. Since the 1960’s, burning the flag has been protected under the First Amendment. Many attempts throughout the years have been made to overrule that decision.(Garbus Martin) In 1968, the Federal Flag Desecration Law was enacted. It prohibited any action of “contempt” against the flag. (Flag Burning and Desecration) Many Americans sacrifice their lives to keep our American Flag flying. Although many believe burning the American Flag is okay, it should be illegal.

Some people believe that burning the flag as protest is okay, but it should be banned. In 1989, Gregory Lee Johnson burned the American Flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention center in Dallas, Texas. (Flag Burning should be banned) Johnson was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute that prevented the desecration of a venerated object, the American Flag. (Johnson Flag Burning) A court in Texas tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that his actions were “free speech” protected by the First Amendment. (Patrick Brady) The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case. March
…show more content…
When discussing freedom of speech, burning of the flag is not illegal under the US Constitution. Everyone in the United States is guaranteed the freedom of speech. Everyone is entitled to their own outlook and opinion. Our enemies burn our American flag. The American flag is a symbol of our country. It is a symbol that flies proudly in people's’ front yard. It’s a symbol that many Americans grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance to. It’s a symbol that Americans stand up for a sporting events, with our hands over our hearts, ball caps off, staying silent as the National Anthem plays. The American flag symbolizes freedom in this country. Overall, burning the Flag should be banned because it is a symbol of our

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The battle in the courts of people desecrating the American flag, goes back to 1907. Showing disrespect toward our Nation's flag is intolerable. People have freedom of speech, but do not need to show their opinion through burning the American flag. Burning the flag is offensive to many U.S citizens and is disrespectful to our nation because the American flag is a symbol of freedom.…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The article talks about how the Supreme Court based a law by a 5-to-4 that a person can show their disagreement with the governmental policies by burning the American flag. It gives a vivid example of the other side of the law in china where people who peacefully express disagreement with the government policies may be slaughtered. Allen goes on to talk about how American flag is a cherished symbol of our nation. Allen also talks about how this is technically abiding by the First Amendment, It is the freedom of the people to express there freedom of expression of speech. He thinks that it is just an ironic situation because of the fundamental commitment to freedom.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confederate Flag Essay

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why would you want to ban a symbol of our freedom that thousands of men and women have risked their life for over the many years of war? The Confederate Flag has been a symbol of our freedom for over hundreds of years. It is merely been a part of our history, something we were raised on, something we fought for.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    GOVERNEMNT

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is important that a state does not violate a citizen’s rights to expression and speech. The first amendment protects those rights. This decision will influence future laws by encouraging the states to avoid making laws that are unconstitutional.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Confederate Flag

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The whole reason everyone is saying the Confederate Flag is a symbol of hate or racism is because one white man went to an all-black church and shot some people and stood over them with the flag. Now everyone is saying it needs to be banned from every store and illegal to have one. Stores were…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Texas V. Johnson

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    At this time, 48 of our 50 states had in place laws that prohibited the public burning of the American flag. Texas, of course, was one of these. This caused Johnson to be charged with "the desecration of a venerated object." He was found guilty and faced a sentence of a $2,000 fine and one year in prison. Johnson, appalled by this decision, appealed his case to the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas. This court agreed with the prior one and ruled to have his conviction stand.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The United States is well-known for its principles of freedom and democracy, which is demonstrated through the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. Thus, American citizens can openly discuss political matters; criticize the President and his Cabinet on television, radio talk show or in the newspaper; or publicly protest against the government tax policy. However, Free Speech protection becomes debatable when some American citizens burn the nation’s flag to express their disagreement to the government. The act of burning the American Flag should be constitutionally protected under the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause because the act is a symbolic expression that communicates an individual’s idea or opinion about his nation; and that the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause covers and protects symbolic expression.…

    • 2295 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In contrast to what a hate crime is, an act of free speech, protected by the First Amendment, is the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. An act of free speech does not necessarily mean saying something out loud. It could also mean expressing your opinions about something by using actions. Since burning a nation's flag suggests taking a stand against a political activity, it is a way of expressing your opinion. Similar to free speech, freedom of expression…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Flag stands today to show that the wonderful place we call America, is forever united and will stand strong till we are all no more. Foreigners come to visit our nation and notice that, we Americans are full of purity, innocence, honor and peace, which the 6 white stripes on our flag imply. Also, we are all full of power, strength, bravery and endurance because we don’t allow anyone or anything to tear our nation apart. We will forever stand as one in a blue field of justice, fairness and right.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Texas V Johnson

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The first amendment grants the citizens of the United States the right to speak freely, without legal persecution. Over the past 200 years since this amendment was enacted there have been hundreds of judicial cases devoted to interpreting and refining this law. One such case, reviewed by the United States ' supreme court in 1988, was Texas v Johnson. The case involved Johnson 's conviction of desecrating a venerated object (a Texas Statute) by burning a U.S. flag (Texas V Johnson(1989)). The importance of this case rests not only in the legality of flag burning, but also in the definition of speech. This was the primary concern of the supreme court when reviewing Texas v Johnson. Does the first amendment only pertain to spoken and written words, or can it be construed to protect other forms of expression?…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Funeral protests have been an issue for years. During this most recent war, as soldiers were coming home to be laid to rest, Westboro Baptist Church made headlines by protesting at the funerals of fallen soldiers. During the services, members of the church would gather outside of many of the military funerals waving signs that had offensive messages on them such as, “God Hates You”, and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”. The members of this church believe that the death of the soldiers is God’s punishment for the tolerance of homosexuality in the United States. Last year the U.S, Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects these groups and any others who want to protest at a funeral. The First Amendment was written with a specific purpose and I have to agree with it, however I feel that a person being laid to rest should also have the right to have this done in peace, without another person or group forcing their religion upon the proceedings.…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Flag Burning

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Many people are offended by the act of publicly burning an American flag and feel it should be outlawed based on the fact that it is offensive to the citizens of this country. Although this may be true, people still have the right to protest. This was upheld in a Supreme Court case Texas v. Johnson, where the defendant Mr. Johnson was arrested for publicly burning a flag outside the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. After being arrested Mr. Johnson was convicted of setting fire to a flag during a protest and chanting with other protesters; "America, the red, white, and blue, we spit on you"(Texas v. Johnson). He appealed his claim to the Texas Supreme Court of Appeals where they overturned the conviction based on the fact that he was exercising his first amendment right. One of the Supreme Court justices went on to say, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Derek Bok’s article “Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus,” he states that while some free speech is degrading or offensive, it is still our First Amendment right to say what we want (31-33). Bok brings up the example of two student from Harvard University who hung up a confederate flag. Some people believed that this action was demeaning, since often times the confederacy is equated with slavery. Students of the campus fought to have the symbol taken down. Bok agrees that the way in which the students handled themselves was uncalled for, but at the same time stated that it was their right to display this kind of symbol. Bok believes that deciding what qualifies as free speech, and what doesn’t, is an impossible question to answer.…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the Supreme Court has decided that freedom of speech may at times be restricted, the question arises, should such freedom be restricted when it comes to flag burning? An example of such an action would be an angry mob of people who wish to protest a recent decision by the government by burning the flag. Some people state that the government should ban this form of protest. Others staunchly insist this form of expression should not be outlawed. This freedom should not be restricted.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first amendment clearly states that congress shall not make any law abridging the freedom of speech. If our government isn’t going to avid by the amendments, then why have them? If they are going to ban the confederate flag then they should be banned for not corresponding with our god given rights. The constitutional amendments are what our government is supposed to stick to.…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays