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" The American Flag
"
Does the First Amendment
give
us the right to desecrate the American
flag? Or is the flag a sacred symbol of
our nation, deserving protection by law?
Tough call?
"The Solution" for those who want to
light Old Glory on fire, stomp all over
it, or spit on it to make some sort of
"statement," I say let them do it. But
under one condition: they MUST
get
permission from three sponsors.
First, you need permission of a war
veteran. Perhaps a Marine who fought at
Iwo Jima? The American flag was raised
over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of
thousands of dead
buddies.
Each night spent on Iwo Jima meant half
of everyone you knew would be dead
tomorrow,
a coin flip away from a bloody end upon
a patch of sand your mother couldn't
find on a map.
Or maybe ask a Vietnam vet who spent
years tortured in a small, filthy cell
unfit for a dog.
"Pow
Homecoming"
Or a Korean War soldier who helped
rescue half a nation from
Communism,
or
a Desert Storm warrior who repulsed a
bloody dictator from raping and
pillaging an innocent
country.
That flag represented your mother and
father, your sister and brother, your
friends, neighbors, and everyone at
home. I wonder what they would say if
someone asked them permission to burn
the American flag?
Second, you need a signature from an
immigrant. Their brothers and sisters
may still languish in their native land,
often under tyranny, poverty and misery.
Or maybe they died on the way here,
never to touch our shores.
Some have seen friends and family get
tortured and murdered by their own
government for daring to do things we
take for granted every day. For those
who risked everything simply for the
chance to become an American, what kind
of feelings do they have for the flag
when they Pledge Allegiance the first
time?
Go to a naturalization ceremony and see
for yourself, the tears of pride, the
thanks, the love and respect of this
nation, as they finally embrace the
American flag as their own. Ask one of
them if it would be OK to burn the flag
or spit on it.
Third, you should get the signature of a
mother. Not just any mother. You need a
mother of someone who gave their life
for America.
It doesn't
even
have to
be
from a war.
It could be a cop.
Or a fireman. Maybe a Secret Service or
NSA agent. Then again, it could be a
common foot soldier as well.
When
that
son or daughter is laid to rest, their
family is given one gift by the American
people; an American
flag.
Go on. I dare you. Ask that mother if
you can spit on her flag.
Away
from
family, away from the precious shores of
home, in the face of overwhelming odds
and often
in the face of death, the American flag
inspires those who believe in the
American dream, the American promise,
the American vision...
Americans who
don't appreciate the flag don't
appreciate this nation. And those who
appreciate this nation appreciate the
American flag.
So if you want to
desecrate the American flag, before you
spit on it or before you burn it,
I have a simple request.
Just ask permission.
Not from the Constitution. Not from some
obscure law. Not from the politicians or
the pundits.
Instead, ask those who have defended our
nation so that we may be free today.
Ask those who struggled to reach our
shores so that they may join us in the
American dream.
And ask those who clutch a flag in place
of their sacrificed sons and daughters,
given to this nation so that others may
be free.
For we cannot ask permission from
those
who died wishing they could, just once
or once again...
see, touch or kiss the flag that stands
for our nation:
The United States of
America, the greatest nation on earth.
Go ahead. Ask. I dare
you!
Author
William Lampkin
Webmaster--Sawadeeka
aka Linda
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