+20 You support people's right to burn the American flag in protest, amirite?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I support people's right to burn whatever they want (provided it belongs to them and the act won't harm anyone else) for whatever reason.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I support the right to burn the Quran

by Anonymous 10 years ago

But the American flag; that's too sacred.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

But the American flag; that's too sacred.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

But the American flag; that's too sacred.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Would you support the burning of the Bible or any other holy book?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Exclusively so?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I'm neutral towards it. I've never pledged my allegiance to it, and I don't care if people burn it down to a crisp or not.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Our flag is not sacred, but it is a very important symbol of our freedom. It is what has inspired multiplied thousands of our military people to fight and die for. They have defended what it represents by spilling their blood. Those who have been taught about it's significance and importance know that it is to be highly respected and treated with the utmost honor. Those who hate America and what it stands for love to burn or attack the symbols that stand for freedom and liberty. Although burning our flag does not erase our freedom, it does show tremendous disrespect and callousness towards what it represents.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Burning the flag wouldn't be such a source of pleasure for people who dislike America if we didn't put it on a pedestal like we do. At the end of the day, it's just that: a flag.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Had no one revered and respected it enough to die for it, or "put it on a pedestal," where do you think we would be today?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I'm talking about the flag itself. No one dies for a flag. They're dying for what the flag represents. Like you said, burning the flag doesn't take away what it means to some people. Sure it could be disrespectful to some people, but it's their right to do so.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

But in a very real sense, they ARE fighting and dying for the flag, because as you point out, the flag IS the symbol of what they are fighting and dying for. Would they honestly be doing all that if there were not a flag? Would they do it for the flag of another country? Our flag (especially in military purposes) is used as a visual reminder and enforcer of who and what we are as Americans. By simply "seeing" it held up, men have been stirred in to doing humanly impossible things on the battlefield. It's colors, stars, and stripes all have significant meaning and history.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I think it's safe to say they'd probably still be fighting for their country if there was no flag. America takes its ACTUAL flag more seriously than pretty much every other country. We can still stand for freedom (although that term is becoming looser and looser all the time) and all that without a flag. America is still America without a flag. Why do people feel like they loose sense of their identity without it? I find it slightly ridiculous.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I agree with your overall point and big picture, but there is still something about heritage, tradition, and historical value in all things regarding our country. Our flag does not make us Americans, but it does reflect on what country we are from and what our country stands for. If you don't know who or what you are as a citizen of your country, then what is the point? On the grounds of your argument, we could say there is no need for any national symbols such as the bird, tree, song, etc. But all of these things tell something about our past - where we came from and what happened along the way. The history and tradition of things provides a context or framework - a sense of belonging and being. I am sure you like to fit in with your peers by wearing certain clothes, shoes, or having specific brand name products. Why? What does it matter if you wear shoes from KMart or Macy's? You will still be the same person no matter what is on your body. But everyone knows how valuable and important "image" is. Our country has an "image" as well, and the flag plays a very important role in such.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

In all honesty, I do not see the American flag as a symbol of freedom. I see it as a symbol of freedom earned by taking the freedom from others.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Thank God you are not an American soldier defending my rights then. See how far you would get trying to pass that statement off for the guys on the front line.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I wasn't saying I absolutely hated the American flag, or America. I'm just not proud about some certain parts of history of America, which involved taking people's freedom and being unfair. Now, though, there is far more freedom than before. Not exactly equality for all yet, but we're getting there. And why is it that my seeing the American flag differently doesn't qualify me as a person defending rights? If anything, I am a strong activist for human rights.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I should not have to point that out to you. Being American is in your blood, bones, and heart. There are certain things that are equated with being American - and love and pride of our flag is one of them. All you have to do is study the history of our flag and realize how many men fought, bled, and died for it to fly freely and proudly to understand the emotion and deep respect it exudes. I never served in the military (not because I dodged it), but I still well up with pride and sheer gratitude each and every time I see Old Glory waving. Our Statue of Liberty is another great American symbol that should elicit the same feelings of emotion and appreciation to be who and what we are as a free people. If those do not touch you that deeply, then I can only say I feel sorry for you and hope the day will come when it impacts you to a greater and fuller degree. And I will not continue answering questions or dialoguing with an anonymous poster. If you wish to remain in the shadows, then don't tell me how patriotic or strongly activist you are. I view you as someone who is trying to get others to do your work for you. Hiding and being secretive in my book is cowardly and means you have ulterior motives. I want no part of it.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Don't be so quick to judge others as having ulterior motives. It's an unfair generalization. You talk about burning holy books, but have a problem when it comes to burning fabric. Paper is okay to burn, but not fabric? Doesn't seem right to me.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Burning the flag isn't so much a disrespect to freedom as it is an accusation of the flag not truly being a symbol of such. And it is not the symbol of ideally moderated freedom, even, because even we aren't perfect. So when our country steps out of line (which it's done before), somebody needs to say that the flag no longer represents freedom under what is being done.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Well said.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Thank you. Do you still feel that it should not be accused of not being a symbol of freedom, or you you just feel that it does represent freedom?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

"It is a very important symbol of freedom." By not supporting the **right** to burn it, you don't support what the flag stands for.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Woah, nice catch

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I DO support it.......see comments below.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

TBH, I'm a lazy asshole. Which comment in specific?

by Anonymous 10 years ago

What is TBH? I am old. And ALL comments. I changed my vote too..........I am still learning crap on here. I made a mistake voting the way I did and that is what caused all the trouble. I did not realize I had voted against.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

To be honest

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Gee...........I should have figured that one out! Thanks I don't do Facebook, Twitter, or any other social sites. This is it.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I don't get why some unregistered user downvoted you, so I went and voted them all back up.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I do. I was having a major personal conflict with the Anonymous poster who ended up bashing me pretty badly. I don't care what anyone says to or about me, but they made it personal and went too far. They refused to message me in private, and because they were posting Anonymously, I had no way to personally message them. It has been handled and they can't mess with me any more. And thanks. It is sad when people can't be civil and respect the opinions of others. I don't think everyone has to agree with me, and I am certainly not going to agree with everyone else.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I am kind of both. Symbols are representations of something significant or of great importance. For example: a wedding ring is a symbol of a person being married. Wearing a wedding ring does not MAKE a person married, and not wearing the ring does not mean they are not married. The ring is just a VISUAL representation of what 2 people have already committed to and hold dearly in their hearts Marriage is an act of the heart before it ever becomes an act of exchanging vows or rings. I am a 100% American with or without my country's flag. But all countries have and fly flags for a reason. They are that visual open display and declaration of what we are and how we got to where we are. The stars, stripes, and colors all stand for and represent very important things about our heritage. Not flying a flag or burning it does not take away from my being an American - it only sends out a message of insult and disrespect for everything it stands for. Patriots of countries are proud of their flying banner, and they have every right to be angered when enemies, traitors, or terrorists want to disrespect our symbols of freedom. They may have the right to burn or trample it, but I have the right to be offended and angered. Do you remember the outrage and hell that broke loose when that pastor was threatening to burn a Quran? The media and Muslim community were outraged and put enough pressure on the situation to stop it. But nobody has a problem with Old Glory being burned. I find that amazing.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I don't recall. I'm young, so I miss a lot, but I believe you and don't think it should have been forcibly stopped. So are you saying it should be legal to disrespect the Muslim faith, but not America? Where do you get the double standard? And what if someone in said hypothetical marriage were to cheat on their partner, in a way allegorical to a country undergoing a massive scandal? Would it not be justified to then damage said ring? I think that the flag represents the notion of what America does, not of perfectly and ideally moderated freedom. All countries fight for the latter, so it's arrogant and out-of-line for us to pretend it is exclusive to us. And if what America does becomes wrong, then that symbol, our flag, can, I think, be burned to send a message that we believe the country is doing wrong unto others or ourselves.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

If you are young and miss a lot, then how can you possibly be taking me to task and splitting hairs over my view? Where did I say it should be legal to disrespect the Muslim faith but not America? I used an example to prove to you that people in our country and from another faith do NOT treat the topic equally. Most have no problem burning the American flag but would find it completely out of the question to burn the Quran. I support the right to burn either, and that should be clear in reading my posts. I don't LIKE when people do these things, but I support their right to do so. And rather than burn our flag to send a signal [which accomplishes absolutely nothing], we should be able to PUNISH our leaders who take advantage of and lord themselves over us. They have pretty much insulated themselves from being touched or held accountable.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I didn't mean to sound so aggressive about the topic, first off. However, you did say earlier (please correct me if I missed the sarcasm somewhere) that you support the right to burn the quran, while you disagree with this post itself. I assumed it's implied that each was a symbol of disrespect to each respective culture/religion. Now, your comment says that you support the right to burn either, yet you still disagree, so I'm quite confused. The whole flag burning thing is more of stating your own opinion than trying to change anything with it, and you're pretty much right in saying that there are far better ways to protest, although we're not always at liberty to punish any leader we think is bad, because not everybody may feel that way and we shouldn't be able to until said feeling is mutual. I find that we're pretty much in agreement here, although you seem to contradict at times which has confused me. I think burning the Quran is very offensive, and burning the flag can be just as offensive depending on what message you're conveying. If you're against the people, it's just as offensive, but if it's against what the country is doing, then it can be less offensive depending on the exact issue at hand, although neither one accomplishes anything and only really pisses people off.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

OK....I did not realize how I had actually voted on this post. You are right - I voted against the statement, but in all my comments have supported a healthy respect for and towards our flag and its symbolism. I just re-read all of my comments on this post, and none of them shows me against supporting anyone's right to do as they choose. If someone has the right to burn the flag, then they have the right to burn the Quran. I specifically chose the Quran because it is treated with such "kid gloves" in this country. For some reason, we have let our leaders and special interest groups tell us what we can and can not say or do. Burning any item does not make WHAT the item stands for disappear - so the burning of it is not the worst thing that could ever happen. If I seem to contradict at times, I don't mind having that pointed out. Just show me where and how I did, and I am open to discussing it. I felt like the anonymous poster was out of line for "jumping in," and I noticed in reading the thread above, they remarked before. I had said I would not comment on their remarks, and got sucked in again. That won't happen again - and I am putting it in writing!

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I admit I often take a lot from somebody's vote on a post; it's my go-to point to refer to, so while your comments were in synchrony, I saw an unintended contradiction. I don't really understand why you feel that the anonymous person's input was so out of line, because it seems they intended no disrespect. They merely disagreed with what you said about my age and how you don't understand how I'm arguing with somebody who has experienced more. I have no idea what they were referring to about you being defensive about stuff since I've never seen it before, but I'm not in every discussion so I may have missed whatever they were talking about. Still, I won't assume they're right. I just think the insults don't help at all, and am a bit dismayed at how you started to reject their views and opinions, saying "yough shit", "kiss my ass", and such. This is a debating site, so that's completely against the spirit.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I think I know who the anonymous person is, and that is why I took offense to it. The law of probability and averages would make it fairly easy to assume who it is. If you have noticed on this site, there are NOT unlimited posters or commenters. Most every post is by a select same group of people. Most of the comments, agrees, and disagrees are the same way. Look at all your posts and the group who agrees or disagrees, and you will notice patterns. So I have a fairly good idea who it is, and why they are doing it. And they will not bait me again.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Guys - can we calm down please. Please leave the conversation if you have no further additions to add Thanks, James

by Anonymous 10 years ago

Sorry, I tried to help but I made it worse.

by Anonymous 10 years ago

I respect them, but i don't agree with buring the American Flag, it is a symbol of our country and everyone should be respectful of it whether they like it or not.

by Anonymous 8 years ago

I support their right to do so - that is what freedom is all about...but by no stretch of the imagination do I condone the burning of the flag. Thru the over 2 hundreds years of this country, tens of thousands of people have died for that flag and what it represents.

by Anonymous 8 years ago

I respect their belief but I do not support their right to burn the flag.

by Anonymous 8 years ago

I probably disrespect their belief more than I agree with them burning the flag...but do think they are free to make themselves look hateful, entitlement driven, etc. to those who see them desecrate and dishonor fallen heroes.

by Anonymous 8 years ago

I agree, they should not burn our flag they should have more respect.

by Anonymous 8 years ago