320 Nelson Street, P.O. Box 778, Tiffin, OH 44883
Phone (419) 448-3200 Fax (419) 447-3274
General E-Mail: adtrib@bright.net
Newsroom E-Mail: atnews@bright.net

Protect the flag, but don't overlook the ideals

If enough Americans want a constitutional amendment to outlaw desecration of the American flag, we'll have one.

But in the process, we ought to think about what we are saying.

To most Americans, the burning of the flag is an instant trigger for anger. The flag has been a symbol of the attributes of this nation to them for all their lives. And among the citizenry are veterans who have seen comrades die while fighting under the flag, and people whose loved ones did not return from such actions.

However, the flag still is only a symbol.

If we'd never had a flag, the same people would have made the same sacrifices on the same battlefields to protect the freedoms, opportunities, justice and other virtues this nation offers. They died for more than a piece of cloth, however well that red, white and blue cloth symbolized the United States.

If the Constitution is amended to protect the flag, citizens should remind themselves to make sure America remains a nation of ideas and doesn't become one of idols.

If we kept the flag from burning and did not also protect the ideals the flag represents, the flag would not be worth much.

The debate has gone on long enough that Congress should approve the proposal and send it on to the states for ratification.

Its passage would be likely. Few among the populace can abide seeing desecration of their flag.

But we should keep in mind that a burned flag does no harm to this great nation ... as long as its people are ready to defend the values the flag symbolizes.

Top of Page