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I'm not saying everyone has to respect it but if they live here in this country they should!

You are saying that all Americans should respect the flag.

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The flag was made to resemble the country that gave them to rights they wanted.

One of those rights was the right to protest and even to burn flags.

I'm not saying everyone has to respect it but if they live here in this country they should! The flag was made to resemble the country that gave them to rights they wanted.

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Just b/c others don't respect our country doesn't mean we shouldn't!

You can respect the flag, but others don't have to. Others are free to make their own choices. End of story. You make it sound like everyone should respect the flag.

Just b/c others don't respect our country doesn't mean we shouldn't! All that is is a monkey-see monkey-do attitude.

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The flag was originally made as a symbol of the country, why not respect it as such?

Because some people don't respect our country or its ideals.

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This is whole problem with this arguement. You want to force people to think a certain way and a believe a certain thing. -Bluedemocrat

I am not playing dictator here. I'm not forcing anyone to do anything. I welcome everyone to their own opinion. I'm just stating mine as clearly as possible. The flag was originally made as a symbol of the country, why not respect it as such?

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Bluedemocrat, you know very well there are more civilized ways to protest but people dont want to see it.

Please refrain from lecturing me like a child. Most people don't burn the flag.

Look, I don't want to make this a "war" discussion. A flag is just a flag. It is a piece of cloth. To some it represents this country, to others it is meaningless.

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you have to believe that it stands for the country that gives yo rights and is willing to bend over backwards to protect you.

This is whole problem with this arguement. You want to force people to think a certain way and a believe a certain thing. You are free to believe what you want.

Bluedemocrat, you know very well there are more civilized ways to protest but people dont want to see it. Italianstallion is very right. When you burn an old tattered flag, it's considered retiring and is done cerimonially. There's RESPECT in that. As for if it were Korea, you could possibly be killed if you didnt support the country, so why protest the things and choices and freedoms this country gives us? I know that war is an awful thing and people wished it would've been avoided but There were people who protested our freedom, killed our people, and attacked our country. Are we just supposed to sit there and take the blow and not do anything about it? That just leaves us open for more attacks. I believe that whether the flag is your property or not, you have to believe that it stands for the country that gives yo rights and is willing to bend over backwards to protect you. I have no real political stand, I'm not republican, not democrat, not a conservationist, I'm just me and I have my own things I believe. I say that so no one will mistake me for something I'm not.

Please excuse my ignorance if this has already been discussed, but as I recall, burning a flag once it has been torn to shreads, scarred, burned (out of accident), or otherwise damaged beyond repair, it was supposed to be burned cerimonially out of respect as a way to retire the flag.

Personally, burning a flag for anyother reasons is, in my own opinion, unjustifiable regardless of what statement you are trying to make. However, under the circumstance I have mentioned, as blue also alluded to, should flag burning be permitted? I remember as a boy scout that we had a ceremony every year where we would burn one or two irrepariable (sp?) flags out of respect in order to retire them. Good ol' scouts.

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Originally posted by bluedemocrat:
If you buy a flag, then you own. It is your property. You can do whatever you with it. End of story.

What you have said is the primary difference between liberals and conservatives on the issue...liberals consider the flag a piece of property, conservatives consider the flag a hallowed symbol of American freedom.

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Why shouldn't you respect the country you live in?

Burning a flag is not always disrespectful to the country that you live in. Tattered flags are burned all the time. You could burn the flag to protest against a particular war or against the current political party. What if you lived in a place like North Korea? Would you respect that country?

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There are better and more civilized ways to protest.

In your opinion.

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I know we have the right to protest but only by the freedom of speech that we were given in which we should be thankful for.

Yes, that is correct. However, you can support one aspect of this country without supporting all aspects. If you buy a flag, then you own. It is your property. You can do whatever you with it. End of story. It is none of the government's bussiness. It is not their place to prevent people from being unpatriotic.

bluedemocrat, Why shouldn't you respect the country you live in? There are better and more civilized ways to protest. I know we have the right to protest but only by the freedom of speech that we were given in which we should be thankful for. Other countries wouldn't give such freedoms a thought and if you were to be there and burned their flag as a protest, some governments would have you killed there on the spot. Why shouldn't we be more civilized!? I hate the war as much as everyone else but we brag about being a great, helpful country.... why not begin to prove it?

SqUeAkYcLeAnAnGeLbAbY, America does not work like that. Flag burning is a form of protest. It can be a protest against the fed. government or against a war. Americans have the right to protest. As long as you are burning your own flag than you are entitled. It is not required that you respect the country that you live in.

You should not burn the flag!!! All you are saying is that you do not support the one country that gave you the freedom of choice, speech, and the freedom to live a life of happiness. If you dislike the country so much then you should go somewhere else and show disrespect to them and their country and see how things work!

The flag represents our country but it also represents our current government. if a person doesnt agree with either i see no reason why they shouldnt express how they feel.

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If you have an anarchy avatar you should be all for flag burning.

You know, bauhaus, I've often wondered whether or not all the NMers who have that avatar realize what it means.

I think that people should have the right to burn flags. Like someone else said, what are we going to do with flags that need to be retired if we can't burn them? Well we could make it legal to burn flags that need to be retired you say. Right, like that's going to work. "No I'm not burning it in protest, it needed to be retired" "Well then why are you yelling anti-American slogans?"

That being said, I personally would NEVER burn a country's flag. To me that represents such a terrible insult to the country that I could never justify it. It would be like burning a Bible or Koran or something like that.

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Originally posted by slicendice69:
i dont think people should be allowed to, but if someone wants to have it, ill give you the matches you light it. it proboly will get passed and be over enforced

If you have an anarchy avatar you should be all for flag burning.

i dont think people should be allowed to, but if someone wants to have it, ill give you the matches you light it. it proboly will get passed and be over enforced

It's people's right to burn the flag if they want. Doesn't mean they should though.

I don't think it is civil & right to burn the american flag over an election. But it is their right to burn it. but i think that is just wrong.

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