ANSWERS: 22
  • Yes + 5
  • Heck yes it should be - not only does it hurt this country's patriotism, but it strikes pain in the hearts of our soldiers as well. I have a few friends overseas right now and i've talked to them before about this. When they see Americans burning the stars and stripes it really hurts their morale. I mean why should they br fighting for a country that burns is own flag?! personally, I think it shows disunion and weakness.
  • It should be illegal to burn any countrys flag.
  • A flag in good condition - Yes it should be illegal. An flag in bad condition - No, burning is a respectful and ceremonial way of discarding an old or wornout flag.
  • I think patriotism is one of the world's biggest problems. If mad groups think you are offended by burning flags they win cheap wars and incite violence but if you are neutral as British seem to be it makes no odds. So my answer is No!
  • When I was a kid the respectful way to retire a worn out American flag was to burn it. After 9/11 people started getting all pissed off about "flag burnings." As if, all of a sudden, the flag meant something to them. People started slapping them all over their cars, right next to the "My child is an honor student at Zippie-Dee-Doo-Dah Elementary" bumper sticker. What happens if my car catches on fire. I'm in the clear, but I had an American Flag sticker on it...slap on the cuffs. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the American flag. I always have, and I always will. I was able to keep my shit together all during 9/11 until I saw a picture of those firefighters pulling that flag out of the rubble. That one picture made me lose it. So, all this being said. What do I do with an American flag that has flown proudly over my homestead lo these many years, but it's a little tattered and worn, and I have a new one? I'm sure as hell not going to throw it away. What, pray tell, is the NEW appropriate way to retire an American flag?
  • No. If individuals feel the need to express their discontent for their country, they should be able to do so in any form--as long as it doesn't infringe upon others. This is such a petty and trivial matter, too. The fact that our representatives have wasted our tax dollars to debate this non-sense on the house floor is absolutely ridiculous and appalling. . And for all you "patriots," get over yourself--the American flag doesn't stand for what it once stood for. It has been stained with greed, corruption and the the loss of our liberties.
  • Should criticizing Bush be illegal? Illegalizing flag burning would be an infringement on free speech. It's not flag burning that's hurting our country, it's everyone making it a big deal when it isn't that's hurting our country. If flag burning was illegal, I'm sure is would actually cause more people to burn the flag to protest an infringement of free speech. But just to point out, I would never burn a flag unless it was worn or tattered.
  • YES!!!....
  • Yes, it is The Symbol for our Contry and should not be desecrated as a cheap ploy to protest our government. All those people who burn it for such a reason need to realize they are buring their Flag as well. It's our only other unifying symbol next to the Constatution. But unlike the Constatution it is our public symbol of unity. And when you burn it you show that we are not a unified Country. And that's what the enemy wants. Plus when you do this you lower the troops moral and that puts lives in danger. And I know nobody wants that. After all isn't our goal to finish the objective with as little loss of life in the shortest time possible? I'm not saying don't critize the goverment. Do that all you want, but just leave the Flag and the Marines, Soilders, Sailors, and Airmen alone. They did not do this after all, it was the government. In fact instead of burning it why not hold it up proudly to show that you have the best interests of the Contry as a whole at heart? To me that gets your mesage across much better then burning Ol' Glory. And it causes less pain to those who have fought to keep it flying.
  • Not if you really believe in freedom of speech. If you believe in Political correctness and forget freedom, then yes.
  • No. It is a symbol, not some 'holy immortal and personalized' object as some see it to be. I does not harm anyone. Burning a flag is disrepectful, but a form of freedom of speech.
  • yes it should be illegal
  • No. The American flag is a powerful symbol and identifier, but it's nothing more than that. True patriotism lives in the heart, not in piece of cloth. This country prides itself, and indeed was founded on, the principles that free speech should be protected and that it is our right, our duty, to question our government and protest when necessary. To make illegal that right of speech and protest is to erode the meaning of the flag itself. You can't protect freedom by restricting it.
  • No. I think the rules for proper use of an american flag is ridiculous. It cannot touch the ground... but you can make underwear out of it? It's a flag people... not a person, it has no feelings. A people that treats its flag better than its citizens is a pitiful people indeed. I have great respect for what it represents, a great country to live in... but its still just a flag. I have great respect for what the bible represents, but its still just a book. I have many tattered bibles (tattered from use) and I have no problem throwing them away when they get too bad to be of use. I don't understand the double standards... a bikini made from a flag is cheered and shows a hot woman's patriotism, (it can get shoved up her crack) but you must replace a tattered flag because its disrespectful for it be in that condition... It's an inanimate object. No one is saying that it doesn't still represent the US, but if a person wants to burn it... oh well, its an object that is personal property and paid for. By the way... Here is what the 'Flag Code' says about apparel: The flag of the United States is any flag of the United States, or any part thereof, made of any substance, of any size, accurate or not, that is recognized as a flag by the reasonable observer. Some argue that flags are only those items made for display as flags. However the flag code makes clear that the image of the flag sewn into fabric (as on T-shirts) or printed on paper are still considered flags: "... It should not be embroidered on such articles as cushions or handkerchiefs and the like, printed or otherwise impressed on paper napkins or boxes or anything that is designed for temporary use and discard..." President Bush Flag Violations: 1. September 11, 2006, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush stand on a carpet of the American flag at Ground Zero in Manhattan, the site of the September 11, 2001 attack. Section 8b of the Flag Code reads, " The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground..." Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed 2. In July 2003 President Bush autographed a small flag. This picture was circulated across the Internet noting its violation of the Flag Code: "The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature." Photo credit: AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Have you read the Flag Code??? It's ridiculous... even so-called patriots violate the 'sacredness' of the flag all the time, yet don't think they are 'disrespecting' it at all.
  • Absolutely not. It's the freedom of free speech. It's not a crime, it's just a very powerful statement, like the word CRAP. It's not illegal to say, it's just a powerful statement. But the Flag Code is getting way too crazy. It's easier to take care of a pet, maybe even adopt a child, than it is to properly follow the flag code. Oh, well. Flag burning should not be illegal.
  • No. That infringes on personal freedom and the right to free expression to prevent something that harms no one. How asinine.
  • If a flag is in a bad condition, or that it has touched the ground, I say it has a right to be burned in a proper manner. Otherwise, it should not because there is no reason for it to be burned. I agree with others on how flag burning is a freedom of speech, and I also agree with Gideon in answer 4 how our patriotism is in the heart, not in a piece of cloth.
  • yes, as long as flag burner burning is legal.
  • We have the same issue in the UK. Should we be allowed to burn the Union Flag? I always thought if a flag has any power it is in what the flag represents. In this case our noblest virtue is our "freedom of expression". To deny this freedom means that the flag no longer represents this most noble virtue. And if a piece of material does not have this virtue of symbolising freedom of expression then why venerate it? You could argue because of the other things it represents but if it comes to represent repression of free expression then is it really worth that much? Personally I would never burn a flag until the day the government says I can't. "I despise what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  • Yes- free speech is a necessary liberty, but flag desecration (with the exception of proper disposal, of course) should be an omission. Those who feel discontent towards the United States should actively voice their disapproval and take action, but flag burning accomplishes NOTHING. In my opinion, it is not free expression, but treason. If one hates their country so much, they are free to leave.

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