Thou Shalt Not Desecrate The Flag!

Just as the Supreme Court was making decisions about whether or not to allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed on government property, the House of Representatives was busy making moves to safeguard America’s state-sponsored religion. In a 286-130 vote, the House passed a bill that would amend the constitution in order to make it illegal to “desecrate” the American flag. Similar bills have passed the house before only to be killed in the Senate, but experts say this bill has a much better chance of passing than any of its predecessors.

The exact wording of the amendment is, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." Now isn’t that interesting wording. What exactly is “the flag of the United States?” Where is it? Is there some artifact somewhere that is considered The Flag kind of like the Liberty bell or the Lincoln Memorial? Where is this national treasure and why don’t they just put guards around it so no one can “desecrate” it?

Obviously what the amendment is referring to is any piece of cloth that is red, white, and blue, has 13 stripes and 50 stars and is put together to look a certain way. You probably own one somewhere in one form or another, but not for long. That is because with the passage of this amendment, the U.S. government will officially lay claim to anything that looks like the flag of the United States. How else can they presume to tell you what you can and cannot do with it?

Once material is fashioned to look like the flag, it becomes de-facto government property. Out of the kindness of their hearts they will allow you to keep it as long as you only plan to display and reverence it in gratitude for the freedoms and liberties it grants you. But for all you evildoers out there who are planning some sort of sinister flag sacrifice or some vile act of unpatriotic vandalism of our most holy of symbols, our source of life, liberty and happiness, I say unto you that swift and terrible justice shall be visited upon you.

Now to be fair, there may arise some circumstances where the flag will need to be disposed of due to wear and old age. In order for us humble citizens to keep from becoming flag desecraters, I’m sure this proposed amendment will be followed with specific instructions on how the flag is to be laid to rest. We will be directed as to where this ceremony can be performed, who can perform it and what psalms, chants and incantations must be uttered to appease the gods of truth, justice and the American way.

The use of religious words and references here is actually quite fitting. Although the government claims that there is separation between church and state, this is not really true. It does not endorse Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism or anything else we would consider a religion, and it does not care if you burn a Bible, rip up the Koran, or “desecrate” the Torah. It does not care if you pray to God or not so long as you don’t do it in school. However, it cannot tolerate heresy against itself and it is taking action to stop it.

The flag amendment is just one part of a larger movement to replace God with the State. Our children cannot pray in public schools but they stand each day and robotically recite a pledge of allegiance to the flag, each time placing their hand over their heart in ritualistic fashion. The same thing takes place at sporting events and other large gatherings. Even the use of the word "desecrate" itself implies that the flag is intrinsically sacred and holy. What sort of perverse religion is this that teaches us to worship the idols of government, and that seeks to classify acts of dissent against the State as blasphemy?

You may say, but we have freedom of speech. We can say anything we want about the government, good or bad. True, but as of now we can also burn the flag if we want. The point is that when it comes to expressions of dissent against the State, these freedoms are subject to change. Certain political elements are trying to milk the post-9/11 patriotic fervor for all it’s worth, and right now the trend is towards more “patriotism” and less freedom. Critics of this bill are attacking it on the grounds that it infringes on the right to free speech, and this is exactly where they go wrong.

The question of whether or not we should be able to “desecrate” the flag, is really a question of ownership. A flag is nothing more than a specific amount of material organized in a certain way. If I own that material, shouldn’t I be able to do whatever I please with it, so long as I don’t use it to infringe upon the rights of another? If I want to burn it, cut it up, dye it another color, make pants and a jacket out of it, then that is my prerogative. Before they were fashioned into a flag, the materials were privately owned and it was the owner’s choice to combine them to make a flag in the first place. During what part of the production process does this material shift from being privately owned to being subject to State control?

And just what is meant by the word “desecrate” anyway? Is this term to be more specifically defined so that we can avoid breaking the new law? How will it be enforced? Will our communities be infiltrated by informers who will report suspicious activity to the flag Gestapo? This legislation will more than likely be used selectively as a political weapon to silence dissent and to threaten and harass groups and individuals that have fallen out of favor. For this reason it is best if the wording is left vague and undefined. What is crystal clear though is that this is an attack on individual liberty on many fronts and is not compatible with life in a free society. As Rep. Jerrold Nadler said in reference to the amendment, “If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents.” Can I get an Amen?