Name:   Buteye - Subject:   Hypothetical Date:   12/1/2016 1:43:19 AM (updated 12/1/2016 1:48:19 AM)

Assume you and your family are at a local high school football game. At the beginning of the game, the band plays the National Anthem as  the American Flag is being raised. Then out of no where a person starts to shinny up the flag pole and sets the flag on fire. Do you accept it as some "idiot" protesting his anguish toward America and the patriotism that men and women have fought wars and died for in defending our nation? The Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech. "Speech" is generally referred to as "the expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "speech" as the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words; exchange of spoken words; conversation; something that is spoken; and the like. It is the Supreme Court that brought forth a "broader" definition of "speech" which has created the types of the violent dissent that we are witnessing today. If a person decides to deface the American Flag that represents everything that America stands for, there should be some law or other means of punishment for such action. Are we saying that it is allright for any legal or illegal immigrant to burn our flag if they so desire? I dare say that most of those who have immigrated to this country do not look at our flag and hold it in the same high regard as does a true American. Most of them have no clue about how America fought for the freedom we have today. If I fly the American Flag on the back of my pickup truck, does that give some one the right to set it on fire?