] Amendment supporters contend the flag deserves special
] protection as an important national symbol, while
] opponents, including Kerry, have argued that flag
] desecration can be punished under criminal statutes
] without tampering with the Constitution.

[ This is ridiculous. Why should any of this shit be *illegal* in the first fucking place? What country is this, honestly? Burning a flag is one of the most serious commentaries we can make about the activity of our government. I thought the ability to stand up and say, categorically, "My government is wrong." was somehow important to the American ideal.

How is it that people so easily miss the point. These people don't respect the ideal the flag represents. It is an important symbol, but holding up as something it's not is just wrong. It reduces the flag to a marketing tool, a button or a poster, a fucking blind to hide all the greed and authoritarianism behind. That's a desecration. 150 million tattered nylon flags or faded vinyl stickers on SUV's driven by thoughtless drones who think patriotism has more to do with prominently displaying the symbol than living the ideal. That's a desecration. Proposing this measure now, purposefully exploiting that false patriotism and jingoistic war mentality... unrepentantly using the symbol for private gain... it's ugly. It's a desecration.

A certain amount of flag waving is unavoidable, of course, on both sides, but this focus on the object itself just continues to baffle me. -k]

Kerry, Edwards and Daschle May Face Vote on Flag (washingtonpost.com)