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Trump’s stance on flag burning misunderstands the practice of it

Trumps+stance+on+flag+burning+misunderstands+the+practice+of+it

On Nov. 29, Donald Trump tweeted that “Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!” This was in response to increased animosity about using the flag as a protest symbol through desecration. Trump, being the patriot that he is, took offense to those comments.

The offense is completely justified. No one wants to see a symbol of their favorite thing be destroyed in front of their very eyes. Yet this mindset of safety and not wanting to your treasures be desecrated upon is the exact reason why flag burning should be and stay legal, because, although it may sound edgy, flag burning is a completely legitimate form of protest, and can not be made physically illegal.

First off, burning a flag is a very justified form of protest. This comes from the very idea of a flag in the first place. A flag is a symbol, nothing more and nothing less. It is supposed to represent something like a country or a state or even a city. So such a symbol can be then associated with the actions of the place or thing it represents, both positive actions and negative actions. That right there is why flag burning becomes justified in protests. The burning of a flag or any symbol is a rejection of the oppression or abhorrent actions that the represented thing makes.

A good example of this is with Colin Kaepernick. While he did not burn a flag, he rejected the practice of standing during the national anthem. While refusing to stand for the anthem is not as extreme as burning a flag, it’s still the same concept. Kaepernick saw the national anthem as a symbol for a country in which people of his race are, in his eyes, extradited and oppressed. In order to stand for his people, he sat down during a symbol for the country that did this. Whether Kaepernick was right or not, his protest was completely justified. And the same goes for flag burning.

Even if flag burning was not justified in protest, that would not impact the current legality of it. In 1989, during the case of “Texas v. Johnson,” in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that flag burning was a form of symbolic speech. Not only that, but that same Supreme Court later reaffirmed this decision with the case “United States v. Eichman.” So in order to make flag burning illegal, Trump would have to overstep one of the most powerful branches of government, which has the job of making sure laws and decision or within the limits of the Constitution. It seems that a President overstepping the guardians of our constitution in order to stop a form of protesting that people don’t like is a bit worse than burning a flag, which is something we have the constitutional right to do.

Some will say that regardless of any decision that has been made or the reasons for doing so, burning a flag is unforgivable. This is understandable. Flags can symbolize the bad, but it can also symbolize the good, like our veterans, or our rights as American citizens. But for some, the bad outweighs the good, and it needs to be shown somehow. Not allowing it to be shown is far worse than not allowing in the first place.

It would be stupid for Trump to take away this symbolic form of speech. Because in doing so, he will, instead of making America great again, be treading on what made it great in the first place.

View Comments (20)
About the Contributor
Liam Sweeney, Perspectives Editor
Liam Sweeney is a senior at Metea Valley and the Perspectives Editor for the school magazine. He is a political independent, as he refuses to align with any of the mainstream political parties. Music dominates Liam’s life as he is a lover of all rock music, with his favorite genres being garage rock and punk rock. Liam also plays guitar and wishes to be in his own band in the near future.

Comments (20)

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  • C

    CalebNov 16, 2017 at 10:48 am

    To whom it may concern… The flag represents the country, not its current state of affairs. The number of men and women who died for that flag is too high for people to start burning it. If you have a problem with a society or an action in a country, change it. But don’t be as cowardly as to burn a symbol of freedom and patriotism. Our country might not stand for what it once did, but don’t burn a flag that represents its history and its roots. Its childish. If you burn a flag, you might as well leave the country. While it should stay legal, anyone who does it, in my eyes, is not far from a domestic terrorist.

    Reply
  • E

    Eli BerrySep 18, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    the childish action of burning the flag isn’t justified. All of the people that go to those protest and burn our flags sit there and do so with a full stomach and enforcement to protect them. I would loooooove to see those people shipped off to Ethiopia, Iraq, and North Korea. it churns my insides and disgusts me when a legal resident of this country burns its flag in spite of the fact that they eat its food and live under its great system, the sheer disrespect utterly revolts me. I back Trump on this one, burning the flag is never justified when you live in a country this great.

    Reply
  • A

    American CitizenDec 15, 2016 at 8:52 am

    Burning a retired flag is very different then what these protesters are doing. Burning a retired flag is a symbol of respect where you are respectfully letting it go, but burning flags out of hate and anger is very wrong and disgusting. Yes it may be a legal form of protest, but it’s disgusting. We have soldiers who fight and die to protect this country, and our flag. If you burn the flag, you are disrespecting everything they do for us. You wouldn’t even be able to burn the flag if it wasn’t for the soldiers fighting to protect us. The fact that some people think its perfectly acceptable to burn the symbol of our country simply because the president elect you wanted didn’t win? If you don’t like Trump, then leave. He’s your president no matter how much you say “not my president.” Don’t disrespect our country, our soldiers, and our symbol because you’re upset that he on. America chose him. Even if Clinton won the popular vote, Trump won. Deal with it, or leave.

    Reply
  • L

    Liberal GuyDec 14, 2016 at 9:40 am

    Burning the flag is protected by freedom of speech and freedom of expression, so it is allowed in this country. I personally wouldn’t do it, but america and our veterans have fought for the right to practice these freedoms which makes America the free country it is today. Banning this would lose the freedoms that this nation was founded upon.

    Reply
  • A

    America's EgoDec 13, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    America isn’t great and it has never been great so maybe burning that piece of cloth will help spark a conversation on how to make this country great. Oh, and Trump is an insane narcissist 😉

    Reply
  • N

    NicoDec 12, 2016 at 6:09 pm

    I agree with the Proud Conservative above.

    Reply
  • M

    meDec 12, 2016 at 11:42 am

    Actually burying the flag is also very disrespectful because the flag is not supposed to ever touch the ground.

    Reply
  • A

    abby againDec 12, 2016 at 10:32 am

    Glad to see students who respect the flag in the comments.

    Reply
  • P

    Proud conservativeDec 9, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    This article scares me. it scares me because i see people who lost the respect and pride Americans once had in their nation and forgo the very symbol and meaning of our flag.

    And you are confusing an action being justified and just being legal. Yes, burning the flag is a form a protest, and therefore legal. However, burning a something as symbolic as the very freedom and rights so freely offered to the citizens of the greatest country in the world, protected by the brave men and women who die (and still are to this day), seems the farthest thing from justifiable.

    Here’s something, ditch the safe-space, look past yourself for a second, and remember those who’ve fallen and given their life for you to be able to protest. Remember that everyday and I’ll think you’ll look at the American flag with more pride and thankfulness, than for firewood.

    Reply
  • J

    Jimmy RuffoDec 9, 2016 at 10:50 am

    wow

    Reply
  • M

    MAGASQUADDec 8, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    Yeah, burning the flag is freedom of speech, agreed. However, why do it? I mean it’s America everyone has the same rights and please someone hit me with evidence of this “systematic oppression” and this “racism” and stop using it as an excuse for your failure to earn money. If you don’t like it here then leave. Or another solution, solve the problem, instead of whining about it. I mean I can’t stand our government, but I love our country

    Reply
  • R

    Really?Dec 8, 2016 at 11:55 am

    Let’s see… the 240th biased-liberal article about Trump. Interesting!

    Reply
  • P

    ParkerDec 8, 2016 at 11:18 am

    I agree with this article for the reasons above, but for another reason too. Does Trump realize that burning an american flag is actually the proper way to respectfully retire a worn american flag? Many people think the right practice is to bury it, but that is not the usual practice (however it is not disrespectful either). Though of course, the situations are different, for example during the retirement process the flag is almost always folded in the traditional triangle manner before burned (unless the flag is damaged to the point where it cannot be physically folded), but no matter how you compare or contrast the two situations, in the end it is still burning a flag.

    Reply
  • A

    A studentDec 8, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Also worth noting: flag burning is the official way to retire a flag that is not fit to be flown. The ceremonies are very somber and are done in respect. The flags that are burned are often worn, tattered, and not something that Americans would want to represent the country. Trump’s stance completely neglects to take this into account.

    Reply
  • B

    Bryce EffnerDec 8, 2016 at 10:19 am

    Under no circumstances should the burning of our flag, which men and women all over the country dedicate their lives to protect, be burned in our own country. The idiocy of burning a flag just cause the president you didn’t want was elected just goes to show the kind of people who participate in these “protests”. I’m with trump, put them in jail or get out of the country you chose to burn.

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    • A

      AnonDec 12, 2016 at 11:07 am

      Evidence please.

      Reply
    • A

      Allison PleshaFeb 13, 2017 at 8:52 am

      How much can you believe in the values of free speech and free expression if you actually agree with this?

      What’s truly American is allowing people to express their beliefs, no matter how wrong you may think they are. You also have every right to consider those people disrespectful and undeserving of their rights. You are allowed to express that, just like they are allowed to express themselves.

      Reply
  • A

    Abigail KDec 8, 2016 at 9:22 am

    I agree that it should not be made illegal, but it should be frowned upon.

    Reply
  • C

    Cian28Dec 8, 2016 at 7:47 am

    (Please delete the recent comment metea media, there was a kaybord fail I did not catch.) All of this is a big middle finger to America, burning our flag isn’t American at all. its quite the opposite, it’s terroristicly Anti-american. This is the same with Kaepernick, not only is he refusing to stand for the anthem, this sleaze is kneeling, how the heck are we going to keep a stable America with half of the gosh darn nation turned on it’s self. So yeah, jail time and fines seem fine for saying “death to america” regardless of how. the hard work, the sacrifice, the long history we have, Respect it for flip sake. To hell with all who oppose this nation, and to hell with those who oppose our way of life. #DonaldJohnTrumpForPOTUS2017

    Reply
  • ?

    ???Dec 8, 2016 at 7:30 am

    So it’s OK to burn an american flag in America? What is going on here this world is messed up. In more ways than one

    Reply
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Trump’s stance on flag burning misunderstands the practice of it