To Those Who Want To Burn the Flag,
just ask permission........
Does the first Amendment
give us the right to desecrate the American flag?
Or is the flag a sacred symbol of our nation, deserving protection?
"The Solution"
For those who want to light
Old Glory on fire, stomp all over it, or spit on it to make some sort of
"statement," I say let them do it.
But under one condition: they MUST get permission from three sponsors.
First, you need permission of a war veteran. Perhaps a Marine who fought at
Iwo Jima? The American flag was raised over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of
thousands of dead buddies. Each night spent on Iwo meant half of everyone you
knew would be dead tomorrow, a coin flip away from a bloody end upon a patch
of sand your mother couldn't find on a map. Or maybe ask a Vietnam vet who
spent years tortured in a small, filthy cell unfit for a dog. Or a Korean War
soldier who helped rescue half a nation from Communism, or a Desert Storm
veteran who repulsed a blood dictator from raping and pillaging an innocent
country. That flag represented your mother and father, your sister and
brother, your friends, neighbors, and everyone at home. I wonder what they
would say if someone asked them permission to burn the American flag?
Next, you need a signature from an immigrant. Their brothers and sisters may
still languish in their native land, often under tyranny, poverty and misery.
Or maybe they died on the way here, never to touch our shores. Some have seen
friends and family tortured and murdered by their own government for daring to
do things we take for granted every day. For those who risked everything
simply for the chance to become an American what kind of feelings do they have
for the flag when they pledge allegiance the first time? Go to a
naturalization ceremony and see for yourself, the tears of pride, the thanks,
the love and respect of this nation, as they finally embrace the American flag
as their own. Ask one of them if it would be OK to tear up the flag.
Last, you should get the signature of a mother. Not just any mother. You need
a mother of someone who gave their life for America. It doesn't even have to
be from a war. It could be a cop. Or a fireman. Maybe a Secret Service or NSA
agent. Then again, it could be a common foot soldier as well. When that son or
daughter is laid to rest, their family is given one gift by the American
people; an American flag. Go on. I dare you. Ask that mother to spit on her
flag.
Wonder what the founding fathers thought of the American flag as they drafted
the Declaration of Independence? They knew this act would drag young America
into war with England, the greatest power on earth. They also knew failure
meant more than just a disappointment. It meant a noose snugly stretched
around their necks. But they needed a symbol, something to inspire the new
nation. Something to represent the seriousness, the purpose and conviction
that we held our new idea of individual freedom. Something worth living for.
Something worth dying for. I wonder how they'd feel if someone asked them
permission to toss their flag in a mud puddle? Away from family, away from the
precious shores of home, in the face of overwhelming odds and often in the
face of death, the American flag inspires those who believe in the American
dream, the American promise, the American vision.. Americans who don't
appreciate the flag don't appreciate this nation. And those who appreciate
this nation appreciate the American flag. Those who fought, fought for that
flag. Those who died, died for that flag. And those who love America, love
that flag. And defend it.
So if you want to desecrate the American flag, before you spit on it or before
you burn it ... I have a simple request. Just ask permission. Not from the
Constitution. Not from some obscure law. Not from the politicians or the
pundits. Instead, ask those who defended our nation so that we may be free
today. Ask those who struggled to reach our shores so that they may join us in
the American dream. And ask those who clutch a flag in place of their
sacrificed sons and daughters, given to this nation so that others may be
free. For we cannot ask permission from those who died wishing they could,
just once ... or once again ... see, touch or kiss the flag that stands for
our nation, the United States of America.
Author Unknown
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