Mike Rowe on flag burning

[Wrmedic]

http://ijr.com/2016/12/748597-when-fan-calls-out-blindly-patriotic-mike-rowe-for-defending-us-flag-he-fires-back-in-true-rowe-fashion/?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=conservative-daily&utm_medium=owned

Rowe writes, in part:

"I’ve never thought of myself as 'blindly patriotic,' but I am a fan of the United States, the founding fathers, and the men and women who have served on my behalf. I also confess to feeling lucky to live here.

Having said that, I think you’re correct about the flag; it’s only a symbol. So too is the Crucifix. And the middle finger. And the Swastika. And the compressed chunks of carbon that millions wear on their ring fingers as expressions of timeless love and eternal devotion...

But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a 'mere symbol,' equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?"

He goes on to point out exactly why Americans shouldn't be so quick to cast aside such “mere symbols”:

"The thing about 'mere symbols' Susanne, is that they represent 'mere ideas,' and 'mere ideas' are the backbone of 'mere humanity.' In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution — a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.

Mere ideas are the reason people fight and die. Mere ideas are the reason we’re allowed to speak freely, protest publicly, bear arms, and burn the very symbol that represents those very freedoms. I didn’t suggest that you or anyone else be denied your right to fly or burn whatever flag you wish. What I failed to do, is quietly accept behavior I don’t care for. Which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same compulsion that motivates others to publicly express themselves in whatever ways they choose."

It should be noted that Hampshire College — the institution that started the commotion in the first place — has since reversed course, and once again began flying the American flag on campus.

[depserv]

If you can get expelled from a government school for uttering a word or expressing a thought that has been forbidden by the high seers of liberalism, you'd think that at the very least you should be kicked out of the same school for expressing hatred toward your country, which is what you are doing when you burn the flag.  I'm on the side of free expression, no matter how unpopular the expression might be, but I don't like double standards.

I think less government is often a better solution to a problem than more government.  So how about this: if flag burning is protected speech, so is beating up the guy who does it, if someone happens to be so inclined.  That guy should have rights to express himself too shouldn't he?  And sometimes you have to weigh one person's rights against another's.  So why not give more weight to the one on the right side of patriotism?  It sure would end flag-burning in a hurry.

This of course isn't going to happen and is not a serious suggestion.  But it is tempting.

[Les]

Always liked Mike.  Just made sense. 

[BranchMillardian]

Mike Rowe for United States Secretary of Labor!