"The symbol of your country CANNOT just be a flag!"
According to Jeff, from an article in USA Today, the United States Senate is one vote away from raping the United States Constitution, defecating on it, ripping it to shreds, and leaving the tatters in a ditch somewhere.
But the American flag, thank God, will remain untouched.
Apparently, an amendment that would outlaw flag-burning is only one vote from passing the Senate. Given that all 50 states have apparently adopted non-binding resolutions endorsing said amendment, I guess that means there's a good chance it would subsequently be ratified. And that would be one more right down the toilet.
Memo to Washington: If our brave soldiers around the globe (not just in Iraq, lest we forget) are only defending a flag, they are defending nothing. A piece of cloth does not a great country make. The foundation, the bedrock of our nation are the freedoms we offer those fortunate enough to call themselves its citizens. I need to borrow Jeff's words here because he put it so eloquently: any Constitutional Amendment that restricts those freedoms "is not a monument to those who died for this nation - it is the worst possible affront to their memories."
No Senator or Representative who voted in favor of this amendment will ever, EVER, receive a vote from me.
I conclude with the following quote from fictional President Andrew Shepherd, who perhaps "got it" more than any real president in our lifetimes: "You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'"
Until that, I guess we'll have to sing about the land of the gradually less free.
Song lyric of the day:
"Where did the time go
When everything was simple and free?
I want to know what happened
Somebody woke me before I could have my American dream"
- Better Than Ezra, American Dream
(And by the way, the statement that this would be the first Constitutional Amendment to restrict First Amendment rights is slightly untrue. I would argue the 18th did the same thing. Fortunately, it was repealed by the 21st. Which is a good thing, because if this amendment passes, I'm gonna need a drink or ten.)
But the American flag, thank God, will remain untouched.
Apparently, an amendment that would outlaw flag-burning is only one vote from passing the Senate. Given that all 50 states have apparently adopted non-binding resolutions endorsing said amendment, I guess that means there's a good chance it would subsequently be ratified. And that would be one more right down the toilet.
Memo to Washington: If our brave soldiers around the globe (not just in Iraq, lest we forget) are only defending a flag, they are defending nothing. A piece of cloth does not a great country make. The foundation, the bedrock of our nation are the freedoms we offer those fortunate enough to call themselves its citizens. I need to borrow Jeff's words here because he put it so eloquently: any Constitutional Amendment that restricts those freedoms "is not a monument to those who died for this nation - it is the worst possible affront to their memories."
No Senator or Representative who voted in favor of this amendment will ever, EVER, receive a vote from me.
I conclude with the following quote from fictional President Andrew Shepherd, who perhaps "got it" more than any real president in our lifetimes: "You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'"
Until that, I guess we'll have to sing about the land of the gradually less free.
Song lyric of the day:
"Where did the time go
When everything was simple and free?
I want to know what happened
Somebody woke me before I could have my American dream"
- Better Than Ezra, American Dream
(And by the way, the statement that this would be the first Constitutional Amendment to restrict First Amendment rights is slightly untrue. I would argue the 18th did the same thing. Fortunately, it was repealed by the 21st. Which is a good thing, because if this amendment passes, I'm gonna need a drink or ten.)
1 Comments:
gotta love that movie.
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