True patriotism can't be coerced (Bob Kerrey)

[struggle4progress]

With campaigns at full tilt and the Fourth of July just around the corner, the Senate's new priority is to debate and vote on yet another resolution to amend our remarkable Constitution. This time it's an amendment that would allow Congress to prohibit a form of protest that a large majority of Americans do not like: the burning or desecration of the American flag. Since 1989, when the Supreme Court decided unanimously and correctly that these rare, unpleasant demonstrations are expressions of speech and therefore protected by the First Amendment, there have been many such attempts. Fortunately, all have failed.

Unfortunately, enthusiasm for this amendment appears to have grown even as flag-burning incidents have vanished as a means of political protest. The last time I saw an image of the U.S. flag being desecrated in this way was nearly 20 years ago, when the court issued its decision. Thus this amendment - never appropriate in the oldest democracy on Earth - has become even less necessary. But necessity is not always the mother of legislation. <snip>

... A mother of a friend who was killed in Vietnam recoiled when the flag was offered to her. She would not take it. In her heart the American flag had become a symbol of dishonor, treachery and betrayal. At the time, and perhaps to her dying day, she wanted nothing to do with it.

If our First Amendment is altered to permit laws to be passed prohibiting flag desecration, would we like to see our police powers used to arrest an angry mother who burns a flag? Or a brother in arms whose disillusionment leads him to defile this symbol of the nation? I hope the answer is no. I hope we are strong enough to tolerate such rare and wrenching moments. I hope our desire for calm and quiet does not make it a crime for any to demonstrate in such a fashion. In truth, if I know anything about the spirit of our compatriots, some Americans might even choose to burn their flag in protest of such a law. <snip>

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060617/EDIT/606170306/1003

Uneven ...

[Ringo84]

1. AMEN!

I love that - "true patriotism can't be coerced". Awesome!

Real patriotism is taking the good with the bad. The RWers only focus on the good and deny that there is any bad.

A good analogy is our relationship with our parents. When we're little, we think that our parents can do no wrong. When we're a little older (teenagers), we think that our parents are incredibly stupid. But then we grow into adulthood, and while we acknowledge that our parents are good, hard-working people, they aren't perfect. In the same way, real growth signifies that you can accept that there are less savory parts of your country without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Ringo