All hail the sacred symbols
Retired General Wesley Clark, you know the Army guy running for the Democratic Presidential nomination, has decided to shun the support of the ACLU wing of the Democratic party by endorsing a Constitutional amendment on flag burning. Flag burning is one of those manufactured issues (partial-birth abortion and gay marriage also seem to fit the bill). Flag Burning sparks heated debates between free speech advocates and people who evidently internalize symbolism. No one is going to support flag burning unless they are on the extreme edge of society, or in college, or just happen to like fires and the only fuel handy is an American Flag. Would a judge seriously penalize a defendant who burned a flag rather than freeze to death? Just a hypothetical.
Clark has now put the Democratic contenders in a precarious position: any Presidential candidate who does not support a ban on flag burning can then be portrayed as un-American, when the actual ban would be un-American (who needs freedom, when you've got symbols?). It seems as though Clark has really done himself a double disservice: as a retired General, he is in the unique position of supporting the freedom that Americans like to say they stand for, thus granting the supporters of the other candidates no reason to switch to Camp Clark. If flag burning is outlawed, can upside-down crosses be far behind?
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Retired General Wesley Clark, you know the Army guy running for the Democratic Presidential nomination, has decided to shun the support of the ACLU wing of the Democratic party by endorsing a Constitutional amendment on flag burning. Flag burning is one of those manufactured issues (partial-birth abortion and gay marriage also seem to fit the bill). Flag Burning sparks heated debates between free speech advocates and people who evidently internalize symbolism. No one is going to support flag burning unless they are on the extreme edge of society, or in college, or just happen to like fires and the only fuel handy is an American Flag. Would a judge seriously penalize a defendant who burned a flag rather than freeze to death? Just a hypothetical.
Clark has now put the Democratic contenders in a precarious position: any Presidential candidate who does not support a ban on flag burning can then be portrayed as un-American, when the actual ban would be un-American (who needs freedom, when you've got symbols?). It seems as though Clark has really done himself a double disservice: as a retired General, he is in the unique position of supporting the freedom that Americans like to say they stand for, thus granting the supporters of the other candidates no reason to switch to Camp Clark. If flag burning is outlawed, can upside-down crosses be far behind?
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