Monday, June 19, 2006
Protecting the Flag
The Senate is set to vote soon on an amendment to the Constitution aimed at protecting the American flag from the scourge of the increasing incidents of flag burning and desecration. Oh, wait a minute. How many flags are burned in this country each year? A few, maybe? I don't even think there's a stat to track flag burning since it's so rare. But, our Congress felt it was a pressing issue and apparently there is support in the Senate to pass the legislation, and off to the states it goes for ratification. Could it be that Republicans are looking for a feel-good issue to give to supporters in time for the November mid-term elections? That seems more likely. Our tax dollars at work, a beautiful thing, when you think about it. So much going on in the world, so many pressing issues, but hey, let's make sure to protect the flag from the rare occurrence when people have exercised their first-amendment rights. The Supreme Court ruled on two occasions that flag burning was protected speech, but the Republican-controlled Congress feels otherwise. No big surprise there.
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The Senate is set to vote soon on an amendment to the Constitution aimed at protecting the American flag from the scourge of the increasing incidents of flag burning and desecration. Oh, wait a minute. How many flags are burned in this country each year? A few, maybe? I don't even think there's a stat to track flag burning since it's so rare. But, our Congress felt it was a pressing issue and apparently there is support in the Senate to pass the legislation, and off to the states it goes for ratification. Could it be that Republicans are looking for a feel-good issue to give to supporters in time for the November mid-term elections? That seems more likely. Our tax dollars at work, a beautiful thing, when you think about it. So much going on in the world, so many pressing issues, but hey, let's make sure to protect the flag from the rare occurrence when people have exercised their first-amendment rights. The Supreme Court ruled on two occasions that flag burning was protected speech, but the Republican-controlled Congress feels otherwise. No big surprise there.
