The 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 the 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 everybody 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, ask a Vietnam vet, who spent years tortured in a small, filthy call, unfit for a dog.  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 somebody 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 recite the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time?  Go to a naturalization ceremony and see for yourself the tears of pride, the thanks, the love and respect for 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 to spit on it.

Third, you need the signature of a mother.  Not just any mother.  You need a mother of someone who gave their life for America.  It doesn't have to be the mother of a soldier.  How about the mother of a policeman, slain in the line of duty. Or, the mother of a Fireman, or 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 the nation. Those who appreciate the nation, appreciate the 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 Unknown