They say that they only two sure things are death and taxes. Perhaps we should add to that list attempts to pass a Constitutional amendment to ban flag-burning. It certainly doesn't seem like this thing is going to die.
For the fourth time in six years (just in time for the Fourth of July), the House of Representatives voted to pass this amendment, even though few expect the Senate to muster the two-thirds majority needed to pass the amendment on to the states, where it would be a foregone conclusion. All except independent-minded Vermont have already said that they will pass the amendment.
Is this even a freethought issue? Most definitely, because I can think of few other examples of groupthink and herd mentality as obvious as this one. People like Rep. Henry Hyde tell us that "Burning the flag is a hate crime" (despite the fact that he's reluctant to support legislation that would punish other kind of hate crimes). Even opponents of the amendment are almost required to say that they oppose the idea of flag-burning.
Why? It's just a piece of cloth. Granted, it represents the ideals of this country, but as Rep. John Conyers stated, this proposed amendment would "[elevate] a symbol of freedom over freedom itself." (I'll get back to this point in a moment.)
From what I've read of the very few flag-burning incidents that have happened over the years, the fire is almost always symbolic as well. It does not represent, as most would believe, the protester's feelings towards this country. People who truly hate our country do the kind of things that Timothy McVeigh did: blow up buildings with people-- including children-- still in them. I doubt that anyone could disagree that he caused more physical and psychological damage than anyone who ever burned a flag.
What the fire actually represents is some law or official government action that (in the mind of the protester at least) is at odds with the liberties and freedoms granted by our Constitution. So when he burns a flag, he is telling us, "This is what you are doing to the ideals that you claim to cherish." Unfortunately, most people can't seem to get past their initial visceral reaction. Because they love the flag, they seem to take this as a personal attack. If that's the case, then maybe they love the flag a little too much.
Freedom has always been an endangered species, but now, in order to protect one of its symbols, most people are willing to put one more nail in its coffin. There is a word that describes the valuing of a symbol over the substance. It's called idolatry. I know it's a word most freethinkers shy away from because of its religious connotations, but make no mistake, that's exactly what is happening here. This proposed amendment is nothing less than an authorization of flag worship.
Anyone who thinks otherwise should just look at the wording of the amendment: "The Congress shall have the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." [Emphasis added.] To desecrate something implies that the object was sacred; something to be venerated. This makes it extremely ironic that many of the amendment's most vocal supporters are from the far-right Christian lunatic fringe. Since they're supposed to be worshipping God, and him only, and living for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, why are they so worked up over what happens to the symbol of a temporal power?
I for one do not believe that anything is "sacred". By that I mean that nothing has any intrinsic value beyond the meaning that we give it. Still, I know most people don't feel that way, which makes me wonder just how far we've come as a species since the Neolithic period. We've become more technologically sophisticated, but all we seem to be able to do with that is find new ways to destroy each other. As for social advancement... well, let's just say that all this talk about "protecting the flag" reminds me of the days when people feared that disaster would befall the tribe if the Sacred Totem was harmed in any way.
No, we haven't "come a long way, baby", and we still have a vast distance to go.