I feel it is a reprehensible act to burn a flag in protest. But, since burning is the accepted way of taking a flag out of service, the act of burning one in protest is a political statement that is protected by the first amendment.
The act of burning the flag reveals misplaced hatred. People that burn the flag do so to show their contempt for the government, what they fail to realize is the flag represents us, them, not the government. America is supposed to be the people. The government is supposed to be the people. We lost sight of this fact over the years due to people wanting security above freedom. We weren't able to steal what we wanted from our neighbor under penalty of law, so we elected thieves to do it for us.
The first amendment is merely the concept that each of us should be able to express our thoughts without interference or retribution from the government. It has been bastardized and renegotiated to mean many things now, but we can't give up the main meaning of it. I hate it too Don, but I'm glad we can do it if we want to.
This is as famous as we are going to get. Unless of course you beat up the flag burner and make it to WorldStar status.
