Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Rupe
That "piece of cloth" is "the" symbol of our country. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died while serving under that "piece of cloth". That "piece of cloth" is displayed where ever the United States has a presence, on the land, sea, air, and outer space. It is far, far more than just a "piece of cloth". Its value is far more important than the life of a singular person.
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I honorably served in the US Navy for 8 years. My father served before me (WWII). My son is in the Navy now. We all took an oath that among other things included " I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic". We all were willing to give our lives to protect YOUR rights, including the right of Free Speech. I had conversations with both my father (while he was alive) and my son about this very issue and we were all in agreement that while we personally would probably never burn a flag we would give our lives to protect your right to burn a flag.
America cannot be destroyed by someone burning a flag. If someone feels strongly enough about how their country is working for them, or not working for them, to express themselves by destroying a symbol of that country than so be it.
Someone disagreeing with what our country is doing is not an enemy of our country. We have the right to seek redress, we have the right to express ourselves, we have the right to disagree with our elected leaders and we have a right to express that disagreement as long as we are doing no physical harm to other people or their property or infringing upon other people's rights.
As was stated earlier, if they don't own the flag that they are burning then they are breaking a different law. If they want to lay out the cash to buy a flag and then just burn it, have at it.
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