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Flag Burning Analysis "Why Flag Burning Should Not Be Permitted", is a short essay by Luke Saginaw. The main purpose of Luke's essay is to persuade the reader why he would have voted for a proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting any type of physical desecration of the United states flag. While reading this essay I felt that the author provided good information and had good supporting details to back up his argument. But overall I think that this essay could have been better as the author has some weak points in his essay. The strong points of this essay are that the essay had a lot of evidence to support his claim. To begin in his second paragraph he discusses how the constitution says nothing about desecrating the flag. He talks about how burning a flag is not a speech but it rather an act that takes place. The author tells us that flag burning is not speech and only words are considered speech so for there the constitution doesn’t allow the freedom to burn a flag. This was a good point he made me think twice about what is meant by the first amendment in our constitution. …show more content…
This made reading the essay a bit overwhelming. Some areas where evidence wasn’t really needed was for example after he is done discussing what freedom of speech is and how he feels it deals with words not an act of some kind. He again mentions this in his third paragraph when he starts to talk about how there are 70 percent of people in the United States and support it. That wasn’t really needed because he already mentioned this before in his first and second paragraph . He went talking about what it and is and how it is defined. So I felt it was unnecessary to again repeat what he was just saying
Free speech and the First Amendment rights do not give people lisence to desecrate a symbol of pride and freedom. It is not all right to protect those who let it burn, lighting up the sky with their hatred. It definitely is not acceptable to insult the men and women who fight every day to protect this nation by burning the symbol of their labors. Therefore, it is crucial that the Supreme Court pass the amendment to the Constitution to protect the flag of the US.
Is the upholding of the American flag as a symbol of the United States more important than the freedom of speech provided by the First Amendment? Are there certain freedoms of expression that are not protected under the First Amendment and if so what qualifies as freedom of speech and expression and what does not? The Supreme Court case of Texas v. Johnson proves that the First Amendment and the freedom of speech are not limited to that of spoken and written word, but also extended to symbolic speech as well. Texas v. Johnson is a case in which the interpretation of the First Amendment rights is at the top of the argument. This case discusses the issue of flag burning as a desecration of national unity and that the flag of the United States should be protected under a law.
After ruling the case in Johnson’s favor, it made it difficult to make a law banning the act of flag burning. Laws would be suggested and one would make it to the supreme court. The law would make flag burning a national offense punishable by law. Unfortunately the same majority decision as in the Texas v. Johnson case would arise as a five-to-four majority agreed once again that the law would abridge the right to freedom of speech. Seeing as the same judges presided over the case, the same defense was used to justify their ruling on the law. It was unconstitutional to abridge speech and by their ruling in Texas v. Johnson, the majority still viewed flag burning as a form of symbolic speech. Not only did the ruling in Texas v. Johnson hinder immediate lawmaking against flag burning, but it also divided a nation for a time. Johnson burned the flag, so he says, as an act against the Reagan administration. If this was so as he claimed that divided the nation, not only against him but against the supreme court. You have the protestors during the time who agreed with Johnson, the patriots against Johnson, and those left confused about what was right and wrong. No one side was right, yet no one side was wrong in their eyes. Johnson’s act was crude and even to those who agreed with his right to freedom of speech, they didn’t view his act as unpunishable. The case made the nation doubt itself and its
Stripes and stars forever, right? Well, what exactly does that mean? The American Flag can be seen almost anywhere. From the high-school, to the ball park, and even in our homes, the American flag stands as a symbol of all that is good and true in America. When one thinks of the flag, they usually think of the blood that was shed for this country. It was shed so that we could have liberties, such as, freedom of speech and expression, which fall under the first amendment rights of the Constitution. However, when you think of a burning flag, what comes to mind? One might say it shows disrespect and hatred to a country that has given so much. In the case of Texas v. Johnson, Gregory Lee Johnson was accused of desecrating a sacred object, but, his actions were protected by the First Amendment. Although his actions may have been offensive, he did not utter fighting words. By burning the flag, Johnson did not infringe upon another's natural human rights. He was simply expressing his outrage towards the government, which is within the jurisdiction of the First Amendment.
A flag symbolizes one’s country; The Canadian flag separates us as a country, but still unites us as a diverse nation. It is the way we lift up and cheer on our favourite sport team, to wearing the flag on our backpacks worldwide (Levine, 2014). Ever since it has been signed off, there hasn’t been a debate in over 50 years to evaluate change or reform the configuration of the Canadian flag.
To this day, Americans have many rights and privileges. Rights stated in the United States constitution may be simple and to the point, but the rights Americans have may cause debate to whether or not something that happens in society, is completely reasonable. The Texas v. Johnson case created much debate due to a burning of the American Flag. One may say the burning of the flag was tolerable because of the rights citizens of the United States have, another may say it was not acceptable due to what the American flag symbolizes for America. (Brennan and Stevens 1). Johnson was outside of his First Amendment rights, and the burning of the American flag was unjust due to what the flag means to America.
The burning of an American flag is not necessarily anti-American or unpatriotic. Sometimes, the greatness and majesty of the flag is better portrayed in the powerful political and societal statement of destroying it. This act can convey the feeling of the American people that their government is not the body it should be or that it is not doing the will of the people. This is probably one of the most emotional actions they can take to get the government's attention. Some of these protestors may even love the flag as much as those who are for banning flag burning, but the burners want to emphasize the seriousness of their complaint. The act of burning a flag may be the people's way of telling the government that it is co...
The dissenting opinion to the previous idea is that the government's legitimate interest in preserving the symbolic value of the flag is, however, essentially the same that may have motivated a particular act of flag burning. The flag uniquely symbolizes the ideas of liberty, equality, and tolerance -- ideas that Americans have passionately defended and debated throughout our history. The flag embodies the spirit of our national commitment to those ideals. To the world, the flag is our promise that we will continue to strive for these ideals. To us, the flag is a reminder both that the struggle for li...
Nice job on this, Alex. I like the thesis, and it is developed well, but it isn’t that terribly complex. It didn’t flow that well in the beginning, but it got better. Very clear, but style and higher-level thinking will help you get to the A zone. clarity: A-, thesis development: B, evidence: B+, style: B-, convention: B. overall: B
"Protecting Freedom of Expression on the Campus” by Derek Bok, published in Boston Globe in 1991, is an essay about what we should do when we are faced with expressions that are offensive to some people. The author discusses that although the First Amendment may protect our speech, but that does not mean it protects our speech if we use it immorally and inappropriately. The author claims that when people do things such as hanging the Confederate flag, “they would upset many fellow students and ignore the decent regard for the feelings of others” (70). The author discusses how this issue has approached Supreme Court and how the Supreme Court backs up the First Amendment and if it offends any groups, it does not affect the fact that everyone has his or her own freedom of speech. The author discusses how censorship may not be the way to go, because it might bring unwanted attention that would only make more devastating situations. The author believes the best solutions to these kind of situations would be to
Consequently, the court ensued deliberations regarding whether flag burning constitutes “symbolic speech” protected by the First Amendment. In an impending battle over the conflict, the Supreme Court justice panel ruled in favor of Johnson, accordingly establishing that flag burning was a constitutional right of speech which could not be violated by any system of government or individual. Furthermore, such a ruling was put into place after an acute justice majority vote of five to four; many responded in outrage, arguing that flag burning is “a completely ridiculous, despicable act”. Despite these audacious statements, others began focusing on the importance of our constitution, highlighting the significance of the flag in relation to our Bill of Rights.“The First Amendment is the most precious part of the Bill of Rights. As disgusting as the ideas expressed by those who burn the flag are, they remain protected by the First Amendment.”. Although one may argue against the burning of the flag, acceptance of an action protected by our constitution is within best interest; this practice is enveloped within the meaning of a national symbol that expresses our freedom, unity, and free will within the United
Most of the Court, according to Justice William Brennan, agreed with Johnson and held that flag burning constitutes a form of "symbolic speech" that is protected by the first amendment. The majority noted that freedom of speech protects actions that society may find very offensive, but society's outrage alone is not justification for suppressing free speech.
The author claims, “...punish a person for burning a flag as a means of political protest” (Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion.15.5-6). This being said a person cannot be punished just for burning a flag because they have the freedoms to do so, but they can be punished for disturbing the peace. If you disturb the peace you are not following the First Amendment, therefore you are in return in the wrong. People who burn the flag will make a corruption in the environment with the people around them who disagree with their actions and stand up for what they
The Supreme court ruled that flag desecration was only an act of protesting and it is defended by the First Amendment rights. Also, laws prohibiting the burning of the American flag were made unconstitutional (Martelle).
Apel as a way to express her stances. As pointed out by Apel, “The word ‘desecration’ implies that the flag is sacred, and the government (separation of church and state) can't say that something is sacred.” According to Marsh, another issue arises. The government and state governments would have legal room to define “flag” how they choose. She uses the District of Columbia as an example: they describe the US flag in 4 USC Section 3, "... [to] publicly mutilate, deface, defile or defy, trample upon, or cast contempt, either by word or act, upon any such flag, standard, colors, or ensign, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor" (qtd. in Marsh). As Marsh stated, it could be considered “casting contempt” by simply expressing dislike for the colors red, white, and blue. Marsh ends with stating that burning the American flag would not cause concern over national