A woman who was part of a small crowd of protestors in Bristol, England, threw an egg at Prime Minister Tony Blair, but missed. The egg broke harmlessly on the road and the woman was arrested.
Throwing objects at world leaders, even relatively harmless ones like eggs, is naturally against the law and rightfully constitutes a threat to the leader’s safety. Yet the left in this country is moving us quickly towards a day when throwing eggs at political figures, paticularly when the target is missed, will be protected as a First Amendment right.
The hard left is working hard to prevent passage of an amendment that would make it illegal once more to burn American flags in public. The goal is to deeply embed in the American subconscious, the concept that actions such as lighting American flags on fire in a crowd or throwing eggs at a politician are protected “speech” as long as the intent is political protest.
And you can bet that it won’t end there. The legal arguments regarding this issue in coming decades will weigh the level of political urgency against the level of violence of the action. The more urgent the message is considered, the more violence will be acceptable.
Congress is now debating a resolution to amend the Constitution prohibiting desecration of our flag. The House of Representatives has just approved it and the motion now goes before the Senate, which is expected to approve it by a narrow margin.
Good.
I am wholeheartedly in favor of a Constitutional amendment banning desecration of the great Stars ‘n Stripes. Before presenting the motion to the States for ratification, the new amendment should be strongly worded so that the flag receives its proper respect and must, without reservation, include the following provisions:
1) The right to display The Flag freely shall be limited to the federal government.
2) Display of The Flag shall be restricted to federal land and federal buildings.
3) Possession of The Flag by persons other than those within the federal government or in the direct employ of the federal government shall be strictly prohibited.
4) Sales and distribution of The Flag, its image, or any facsimile thereof shall be solely the responsibility of the federal government. Commercial or non-commercial sales and/or distribution of The Flag, its image, or any facsimile thereof by any private or state institution, company, entity, or individual shall be strictly prohibited.
5) Display and usage of The Flag, its image, or any facsimile thereof for any occasion and/or use shall be strictly prohibited except as stated in number 1) above.
6) The Flag shall be referred to only as “The Flag of the United States of America”. Any other reference to The Flag (including well-known designations such as “Old Glory”, “Stars ‘n Stripes”, “Bars and Stars”, et. al) shall be strictly prohibited.
7) Oral reference to The Flag by persons or institutions outside the federal government shall be limited to normal conversation, hereby defined as non-amplified and non-disseminated conversation between no more than three (3) persons at any one time. Oral reference to The Flag shall not exceed more than two (2) references per hour per gathering as prescribed by number 6) above.
9) The Flag shall not be deified, venerated, exalted, or used to further idolatry. This applies to any individual, group, commercial/non commercial enterprise, organization, gathering, media, or any other entity outside the federal government.
10) Any display, use, sale, or expression regarding The Flag not expressly authorized by this document shall be strictly prohibited.
This should just about do it. No more tacky lawn displays, stupid lapel pins, inane pledges, and cheap TV graphics. No more flag-waving media pundits, infuriating bumper stickers, and ugly coffee cups (Made in China). No more wasted time before ball games. In short, no more disrespect to the sacred symbol of our beloved Homeland.
But until such time that these protections to The Flag are fully in place, I will do with the flag pretty much damn well as I please. Whether its wrapping myself in it or using it to train puppies, it’s my flag as much as yours.
As it always should be.
Flag on the Play,
First, your reference to “Bars and Stars” is incorrect in two ways. The correct term is Stars and Bars and it refers to the first flag of the Confederate States of America, not the United States of America.
And secondly, like all leftists, you are completely full of crap.