Flag Burning Argument Essay

Burning a flag, as Johnson did, to express dissatisfaction with the policies of our country is the wrong way to express feeling. Other wrong ways to treat the flag is by spitting on, writing on, tearing up, or stepping on the flag.

The burning or desecration of the American Flag may fall under both freedoms. 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, 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. As stated in Source D “Justice William Brennan wrote the 5-4 majority decision in holding that the defendant’s act of flag burning was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.” 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. Another court case, where the 5-4 majority ruled in favor of the defendant was United States v. Eichman in 1980, a year after the Johnson case. “In the case of United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990), the law was struck down by the same five person majority of justices as in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989).” [Source D] Multiple times in flag burning cases,

In 1969, the Supreme Court of the United States (U.S. Supreme Court) put forth rules allowing the burning of the flag to be protected under the First Amendment. The U. S. Supreme Court first ruled on flag discretion in 1907 in the Halter v. Nebraska case. Prior to this ruling flag discretion statues strictly prohibited the burning of the American flag , as well as, disrespecting the flag in any way shape or form. In 1968, Congress reacted to the burning of the American flag in New York during a protest against the Vietnam War by passing the Federal Flag Desecration Law. In a few court cases it has been declared that burning the American flag is only illegal if the flag has been stolen. When a flag is worn/torn the proper way of disposing of the flag is to burn it; however, when disposing of a flag by burning it there are steps that should be followed in order to do so honorably. The flag should be folded in its customary manner and then placed on a fire that is fairly large with sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag. After placing the flag on the fire all individuals should come to attention, salute the flag while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and observing a brief moment of silence. Once the flag has been completely consumed the fire should be safely extinguished and the ashes should be buried. Congress has made seven attempts to overrule the Supreme Court decision regarding the burning of the American flag by passing a constitutional amendment that had an exception to the First Amendment and allowed the government to ban flag desecration. (Thelawdictionary.org,

Although they are “protesting”, them burning the flag shows a lot of disrespect towards our country as a whole. Our country has gone through a lot of hard times in the past that considered flag burning like the Civil Rights movement or the Vietnam War. I believe that if you are a citizen of the United States and you are given rights and freedoms, then you shouldn’t disrespect the people that allow you to have those freedoms and rights. It also disrespect our country because it makes us look bad as a whole to other countries out there like Russia and middle eastern countries. Abusing your rights and freedoms by burning the American flag should have a punishment whether you’re protesting or

According to congress in 2010, only 7 U.S. flags were burned a year, and just last year hundreds of American flags were burned. This statistic shows that the amount of rebels and how a lot of more people are starting to go against the rules of our land. Burning the flag that has been around since the 1700’s means more than just not agreeing in what we believe in as a nation. Today I am here to tell you that you shouldn't burn the American Flag, and just a few reasons why. Burning a national governments flag is obviously illegal, it goes against the many lives that have been sacrificed trying to help us live a safe life, and the flag is sacred to the country.

Burning the American flag could be considered very disrespectful to most people. However, according to Amendment 1, we have the right to express ourselves. People who burn flags should not be fined or jailed because it's part of our freedom of speech, it causes no harm to others, and it's just a symbolization of America.

As to whether the first amendment, from the very constitution that was made to protect freedom of expression, should protect flag burning. Flag burning has been a way in which people have been able to symbolize their feelings towards a certain event or topic. This use of symbolism should be protected by the first amendment, because it is a form of expression, which the first amendment protects, and the American people are not affected by this in a way that will harm them.

Flag Burning can be and usually is a very controversial issue. Many people are offended by the thought of destroying this country's symbol of liberty and freedom. During a political protest during the 1984 Republican Convention, Gregory Lee Johnson was arrested for burning an American flag. Years later in 1989, Johnson got the decision overturned by the United States Supreme Court. In the same year, the state of Texas passed the Flag Protection Act, which prohibited any form of desecration against the American flag. This act provoked many people to protest and burn flags anyway. Two protestors, Shawn Eichman and Mark Haggerty were charged with violating the law and arrested. Both Eichman and Haggerty appealed the

This was a peaceful reaction I won’t say protest to social changes in our society. Most people think the national anthem represents those who died for our country which is true in fact, but what did they die for? They died for freedom, for the right to either stand or kneel. When we look at the ethical issues about the confederate flag controversy we can look deeper and what some people believe it still stands for. Some southerners see the flag as a symbol of the South’s independence, sign of pride and the brave fight their soldiers died for. When we dig deeper though, the civil war was fought over slavery, a brutal war between states. Choosing what ethical decision to make it is always a good idea to look at social changes. There are always unified alternatives to both sides. The flag can still be represented in museums and homes, but not in public places and government buildings. After all in our Pledge of Allegiance it does say “and justice for

First of all, the flag, obviously stated in the first paragraph, is a venerated symbol of the country it represents. Burning and desecrating the flag would signify disrespect. In the United States, the flag is protected under the First Amendment, which stands and clearly says “The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag” if you burn the flag, it is roughly the same thing as burning down the White House intentionally. Next, debate.org claims that flag desecration is completely negative, mainly because the flag is an honored symbol, and it is, the

The issue of burning the American flag, as a means of expression is continuously argued today. Many

The issue of flag desecration has been and continues to be a highly controversial issue; on the one side there are those who believe that the flag is a unique symbol for our nation which should be preserved at all costs, while on the other are those who believe that flag burning is a form of free speech and that any legislation designed to prevent this form of expression is contrary to the ideals of the First Amendment to our Constitution. Shawn Eichman, as well as the majority of the United States Supreme Court, is in the latter of these groups. Many citizens believe that the freedom of speech granted to them in the First Amendment means that they can express themselves in any manner they wish as long as their right of

Protesters have burned the flag in many protests to say that “America is going down in flames” according to one college student during a protest on the D.C. college campus (Kopan). It has been a method used since the vietnam war for protesters to say what they need to say. It has been an issue that congress has been working on for years to resolve on whether or not flag burning should be banned or not. Many say it should and I agree but legally they can not bane it because it is a form of speech and to do so would mean going against the constitution which would lead to many more protests (Svrluga).

The thought of the flag burning in my head makes me wonder what would make someone come to such an action. The reasons I believe that the burning of the flag is freedom of speech, it’s to show ones anger against the government and its actions toward the public and to the American citizens. Protecting the flag from Desecration is against free speech. The flag its self represents are right to freedom and to the pursuit happiness. There for burning the flags is in its self a sign that one’s freedom has been taken.

“The US flag is a symbol of great pride” (Hills 2016). Ethan D. Hill from the University of Georgia states this, just as all Americans should know this. The American flag is a representation for the strength and power of this country and all that it has gone through. With that being said, not everyone sees the American flag in this way. Some take it upon themselves to show firsthand disrespect to the flag in desecrating it. Desecration is the act of burning something, in this case it is burning the flag that symbolizes the freedom of this great nation. It is obvious to most that this act should be illegal, seeing as there is no reason good enough to hurt the country in this way; however, some Americans believe otherwise.