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
"Bill of Rights." http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/billrights/billrights.html 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. I am enormously proud to be an American. I value my freedom almost as much as I value my own life and I owe my freedom to the men and women who served our country. My gratitude toward them is so great that it is inexpressible. The flag is an extremely emotional symbol. No real American can say he or she does not become emotional when they recall the raising of Old Glory on the top of Mount Suribachi during the fourth day of battle on Iwo Jima. It is a truly beautiful symbol, but the principles that it represents are more important. There is a bigger issue to the flag desecration amendment than just protecting our nation's symbol; it is protecting our nation's principles. The latter deserves the priority over the former. Let us support General Colin Powell, one of the greatest military officers of his time, when he says, "If I were a member of Congress, I would not vote for the proposed amendment and would fully understand and respect the views of those who would. For ! http://www.freedomforum.org/speech/series/flag.amendment.latest.asp or against, we all love our flag with equal devotion" ("We All Love Our Flag" 1). The General is right on, we all love our flag, but we love our freedom even more. Semper Fi. "A Flag Desecration Amendment." http://www.cato.or
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1148
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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