“Whoever knowingly casts contempt upon any flag of the United States by publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, burning, or trampling upon it shall be fined not more that $1000.00 or imprisoned for not more than one year or both.” 18 USC sec. 700(a).

Flag burning is wrong and should not be protected by first amendment. The flag stands for so much, that in order for one to deface it, one denounces all that the American Flag stands for. New York vs. Eisner, 256 U.S. 345, 349 (1942), “For more than 200 years, the American Flag has occupied a unique position as the symbol of our Nation.”

American men and women have signed their lives away and died for freedom and that flag. It is wrong for the American citizens to denounce those men and women. “By the rude bridge, that arched the flood of their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, here once the embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world.”

America although at times has policies that are unreasonable or maybe wrong, but it is not worth defacing the flag over just to protest the government. Burning a flag in protest, does not tell the government you are unhappy. However, it tells the rest of the world you are unhappy as an American.

The flag as a symbol has played a central role in our Nation’s history time and time again. For example, in WWII, there is a famous picture of our soldiers placing the Flag up high for the world to see. Images such as this inspire the true American spirit of freedom and democracy. We fight and die for the pursuit of happiness.

Also, “Both Congress and the States have enacted numerous laws and regulating misuse of the American Flag.” There have been many laws and regulations placed upon the act of flag burning. For example, in the article it states, “Most of the state statues are patterned after the Uniform Flag Act of 1917, which in sec. 3 provides: “No person shall publicly mutilate, deface, defile, defy, trample upon, or by word or act cast contempt upon any such flag standard, color, ensign or shield.””

“The first amendment does not guarantee the right to employ every conceivable method of communication at all times and in all places.” A person can communicate all of their anger and hatred towards a government in many ways. However, burning a flag is a shallow and pedantic. The American citizen has a panoply on how he or she can protest, why must defacing a country’s flag be one of those unlimited resources? As a result of all this, the burning of the flag is constitutional.

However, it is not only wrong, but a disgrace to the men and women who have died to make this country the land of opportunity. “The court decides that the American flag is just another symbol, about which not only must opinions pro and con be tolerated, but for which the most minimal public respect may not be enjoined.

The government may conscript men into the Armed Forces where they must fight and perhaps die for the flag, but the government may not prohibit the public burning of the banner under which they fight.”