Flag Burning

             In a time of political dissent and eventual revolution, our great nation was founded. Our founding fathers experienced first hand what it was like to not have their natural rights as humans recognized. They based this nation's foundation and laws on protecting those unalienable rights of man, which are, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Declaration of Independence 1). Here in the United States, the main protector of the unalienable rights of man is the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Perhaps the most essential amendment to the Bill of Rights is the first amendment which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances" (Bill of Rights 1). Even though the First Amendment clearly states these rights, there have been four attempts to m!
             uddle out parts of the First Amendment by adding an amendment that bans flag desecration. I understand the offense that is created by desecrating the symbol of our country. But adding an amendment to the Constitution that bans flag desecration should not happen because it takes away the people's right to show their disapproval of the government. Although I approve of the latest failure of the amendment on 29 March 2000 in the senate and will approve of the future dismissals of the amendment, I am not supporting flag desecration; I am simply supporting the right to desecrate the flag.
             America is the greatest country in the world because of the freedom and rights granted to us in the Bill of Rights. Sir Winston Churchill observed in 1945 "the United States is a land of free speech. Nowhere is speech freer--not even [in England], where we sedulously cultivate it even in its most repulsive forms" (quoted in "A Flag Desec...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Flag Burning . (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 13:51, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/59188.html