[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
     DEPARTMENT ADJUTANT PEDRO ADVOCATES FLAG PROTECTION AMENDMENT

                                 ______


                        HON. HAMILTON FISH, JR.

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. FISH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following speech 
delivered by Mr. Richard M. Pedro, department adjutant, Department of 
New York, American Legion, on November 19, 1994. The occasion was the 
75th anniversary of Lafayette Post 37, Poughkeepsie, NY. Mr. Pedro 
clearly spells out the position of the American Legion and the 
Citizen's Flag Alliance for an amendment to the Constitution 
prohibiting the desecration of the flag. It was my great fortune to be 
present at this celebration and I wish to share the words of Mr. Pedro 
who is at the forefront of this effort.

       On June 21, 1989, The Supreme Court said it's okay for 
     protestors to burn, trample, spit on, and otherwise mutilate 
     our nation's flag. In a controversial interpretation of the 
     First Amendment, five members of the high court rules, in 
     Texas v. Johnson, that protestors who desecrate our flag as a 
     means of making a political statement are merely exercising 
     their right of free speech.
       The judges further justified their ruling by saying that 
     the Constitution makes no mention of the flag, therefore, it 
     has no special status.
       When the decision was announced, protestors rejoiced--
     patriots were angered and saddened--and our nation's most 
     precious symbol was given a legal status lower than that 
     afforded to trash, which we still can't burn in many 
     localities--political statement or not.
       It still angers most Americans that a violent, wanton, 
     physical act of destructiveness that violates all community 
     sensitivities can be labeled ``free speech'' by the highest 
     court in the land.
       Prior to that Supreme Court decision, 48 states and the 
     District of Columbia had laws that prohibited desecration of 
     the U.S. Flag. In the decades that those laws were on the 
     books, our First Amendment rights were not in jeopardy, and 
     no one believed that they were.
       None of those laws prohibited free speech. People were free 
     to speak anything they wished about the flag, our political 
     system, our government, and our elected leaders. Those laws 
     were enacted because ``We, the people'' knew in our hearts 
     that the U.S. Flag deserved our nation's respect and 
     protection.
       What other symbol more readily and clearly says, ``Freedom, 
     liberty, equality, opportunity''? What other symbol so 
     eloquently says, ``America''?
       Our love of our flag during war and peace is deeply rooted 
     in our history. At the time the Constitution was drafted, our 
     founding fathers could not have predicted the special role 
     the flag would play in our history, our national character 
     and our daily lives.
       I think they would be pleased with what our flag has grown 
     to mean to Americans. I think they would have been proud of 
     how the ideals they enunciated have come to be represented in 
     a single, recognizable and revered symbol.
       And I think they would have been disappointed that the 
     Supreme Court stripped Old Glory of the dignity and place of 
     honor she has earned through two centuries of service.
       There are various stories about who actually created the 
     first stars and stripes, but it is certain that the first 
     flag was not intended to be a mere decoration or ceremonial 
     banner. Our flag has always been much more than just a piece 
     of cloth.
       It has a job to do. What our yet-to-be-recognized young 
     nation needed was a distinctive symbol that signified the 
     unity of the 13 colonies. They needed one flag to symbolize a 
     willingness to stand united as one people against tyranny and 
     oppression.
       Moreover the fledgling army needed a distinctive flag on 
     the battlefield to help identify the location of friend and 
     foe.
       That new flag was flown for the first time early in 1776 by 
     the troops of the Continental Army near Boston. By June 14, 
     1777, a year after declaring out independence from England, 
     the Continental Congress resolved:
       ``That the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen 
     stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen 
     stars, white in a blue field, representing a new 
     constellation.''
       By the time the British colors were surrendered at Yorktown 
     in 1781, the stars and stripes were recognized around the 
     world, and inspired many a people to cast off their own 
     chains of tyranny and oppression.
       In the War of 1812, after an all night bombardment of Fort 
     McHenry, the sight of the American flag defiantly hoisted 
     above the ramparts caused the British to withdraw. That 
     stirring sight of our flag inspired Francis Scott Key to 
     write the words that would become our National Anthem.
       ``O say does that star spangled banner yet wavve, o'er the 
     land of the free and the home of the brave''? What a 
     magnificent sight that must have been by the dawn's early 
     light!
       During the Civil War, protection of the flag in battle was 
     assigned only to the bravest and strongest soldiers. Carrying 
     the flag was the most honored position in the unit. The color 
     bearer was typically a sergeant who was unarmed.
       He was flanked by six to eight soldiers who carried their 
     weapons at port arms. These ``color guards'' were ordered to 
     use their weapons only in defense of the flag.
       Casualties among the color bearers and color guards were 
     among the highest on the battlefield. Our own tradition of 
     never allowing the flag to touch the ground was born in 
     recognition of the heroism of those color bearers who 
     protected the flag at risk of their own lives.
       African-America Union soldiers took special pride in never 
     allowing the American flag to fall or be captured. Of the 29 
     Medals of Honor awarded to them for heroism above and beyond 
     the call of duty, most were awarded in recognition of acts of 
     valor tied to protection of the flag.
       The destrcution of modern warfare has reduced the need for 
     flag visability on the actual battlefield, but it has not 
     diminished its ability to inspire soldier and civilian alike.
       The most famous photograph of World War II is the picture 
     of Marines fighting on Iwo Jima and raising the flag over 
     Mount Suribachi.
       Aside from the pride the image instilled in millions of 
     Americans back home, there was a tactical reason for raising 
     the flag.
       The senior commander wanted a flag hoisted atop the 
     mountain as an inspiration to U.S. forces still fighting 
     below, and to demoralize the Japanese.
       So great was the power of the flag.
       For many other Americans, a flag folded into a triangle is 
     all they have to remember a missing loved one.
       In our country, it makes no difference if the call to duty 
     was answered as a private, a petty officer, a major or a 
     general--the flag-draped casket represents honorable service 
     to a gateful nation during war and peace.
       Throughout America, flags add dignity and honor to our 
     municipal buildings, our post offices, homes and schools. 
     They stand in our houses or worship. We open our sporting 
     events with the flag and our national anthem.
       Congress opens each day's session with the Pledge of 
     Allegiance to the Flag, and flags have a prominent position 
     in all of our courts--including the Supreme Court. Our 
     national anthem pays tribute to our flag, and our Pledge of 
     Allegiance is to our flag.
       No one salutes the Presidential Seal. Copies of the 
     Constitution do not fly proudly from our front porches. And 
     Francis Scott Key was not looking for the Bill of Rights 
     through the dawn's early light.
       The U.S. Flag is the one symbol that unites us and reminds 
     us of all of the ideals we, as a nation, strive to achieve.
       Our flag has never belonged to a single political party, 
     nor has it ever been the property of one particular cause.
       In the heat of either a foreign or domestic crisis, the 
     flag keeps us united as one people and is a symbol of our 
     commonality of purpose.
       Where then was the Supreme Court's sense of history when it 
     ruled that it's okay to spit on it, to trample on it, and to 
     burn it in anger?
       In addition to categorizing the U.S. Flag as no more than 
     an equal among all symbols, the high court bent the First 
     Amendment by interpreting a physical, malicious act as an 
     expression of free speech.
       Free speech has never been a legitimate defense for such 
     physical acts as burning a draft card, defacing U.S. 
     currency, defacing a mailbox, public nudity, blocking access 
     to public or private property, or even violating neighborhood 
     architectural codes.
       And it certainly should not be a legitimate defense against 
     the heinous act of desecrating the Flag of the United States 
     of America!
       Even if we accept the First Amendment in its broadest 
     interpretation, free speech is not an absolute freedom. Very 
     early on, restrictions to free speech were imposed to protect 
     citizens from libel and slander. Laws were enacted to 
     establish copyright protection.
       Community standards of restricting noise can be legally 
     enforced. Obscene language and visuals are restricted on the 
     public airways.
       Advertising billboards are limited along certain public 
     highways. Tobacco and distilled spirits advertising is 
     prohibited on radio and television. There are laws against 
     joking about bombs on airliners.
       The list can go on and on--but, the Supreme Court doesn't 
     worry about those laws putting our First Amendment rights on 
     a ``slippery slope''.
       Let us remember, it may be the Supreme Court--it may even 
     be the U.S. Congress--but neither is the supreme governing 
     body of this land. The supreme body is you. It's me. It's us. 
     It's ``We, the people.'' We, the people, in order to form a 
     more perfect union. . .
       And now . . . We, the people must do so by exercising our 
     rights under the Constitution to protect the flag and keep it 
     safe for future generations.
       Over the past five years, 44 states have passed 
     memorializing resolutions asking Congress to send a flag-
     protection amendment to the states for ratification. Those 
     legislatures represent almost 94 percent of the American 
     population.
       We also realize that our campaign to secure a flag-
     protection amendment has to be more than a veterans' issue, 
     or a union issue, or a small business issue, or a women's 
     issue, or a liberal issue, or a conservative issue, or a 
     Republican issue, or a Democratic issue--it must be an 
     AMERICAN issue!
       Passing a flag-protection amendment will not be easy. Even 
     though 80 percent of Americans have said they would vote for 
     such an amendment if given the chance, you can expect 
     organized opposition from several quarters.
       There will be those who say that no one should ever tamper 
     with the Constitution, and certainly not with the Bill of 
     Rights.
       There will be those who maintain that preventing flag 
     desecration is a direct attack on the First Amendment, and 
     that its passage will put us on a ``slippery slope'' to 
     erosion of our most treasured freedom.
       And there will be the argument that this is hardly an 
     important enough issue, given all of the problems this 
     country is facing.
       What do you say to those people who admit that they are 
     against flag desecration, but nonetheless are not willing to 
     take the only action that will legally put an end to it?
       First, the Constitution was never intended to be a static 
     document. There are specific provisions in Article V that 
     give the people the power to amend the Constitution.
       We, the people, are the supreme court of this nation, and 
     we, the people, have the power, and the right, and the duty 
     to determine the rules that will govern our society.
       The Bill of Rights itself comprises the first 10 amendments 
     to the Constitution. Without amendments to the Constitution, 
     the Republic would not have survived.
       We would still have slavery. Women and 18 year olds would 
     not have the right to vote. And we would still have poll 
     taxes.
       We, the people, changed the Constitution--we changed the 
     rules that govern us--we corrected the oversights of our 
     founding fathers.
       And, in the case of the 17th Amendment, allowing for the 
     direct election of Senators, we even changed the intent of 
     our founding fathers.
       Second, in responding to those who say that tampering with 
     the free speech provision of the First Amendment is 
     dangerous, remind them that there are already many 
     restrictions on free speech. I've mentioned more than a dozen 
     today.
       Also, tell them that what The American Legion is proposing 
     does not limit actual speech, but, instead, protects the flag 
     from intentional, public, disrespectful, physical acts of 
     destruction.
       Tell them that a flag-protection amendment won't leave them 
     speechless!
       And third, for those who maintain that this is not an issue 
     as important as health care, welfare reform, crime and 
     education, remind them that this issue is about our nation's 
     values.
       It is about the fundamental right of the people to set 
     standards of conduct in civilized society. It is about our 
     identity as a people, and about protecting and preserving the 
     heritage of the greatest nation ever to grace the earth.
       What's more, many of the issues debated before Congress 
     don't even solve basic problems, and they still cost the 
     taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.
       A flag-protection amendment gives back to the people 
     something that they once treasured, something that they want, 
     and it does not cost one red cent.
       I'm asking you to give your wholehearted support to The 
     American Legion and the Citizens Flag Alliance, and HJRES44, 
     a bill proposing an amendment to protect the flag. If you do, 
     we can preserve this beautiful red, white and blue symbol of 
     our national unity and heritage.
       The Supreme Court's ruling, and the failure of the Congress 
     to pass an amendment, in effect, said that our flag is just 
     another piece of cloth under the law.
       Let's show them that it's more than just a piece of cloth--
     it's the fabric of our nation.
       It presents all the things America stands for, and won't 
     stand for . . . and all the values that made this nation 
     great. No other object expresses our identity as a free 
     people quite so well as our flag.
       That's what this campaign is all about.
       It's about preserving and restoring respect for that 
     ultimate symbol of those values . . . so that our children 
     and our grandchildren . . . will understand the price paid 
     for our freedom.
       So they will appreciate what it means when they see us 
     place our hand over our heart and say, ``I pledge allegiance 
     to the Flag of the United States of America . . .''
       It's about restoring respect for each other and for our 
     institutions, so that we can perpetuate our sense of national 
     unity, so we can celebrate our great accomplishments, and so 
     we can rightly be proud to be Americans.
       If we can do that, perhaps we can also rekindle in others--
     young and old alike--that indescribable emotion we feel when 
     we look upon the United States Flag flying proud and 
     unfettered against a spacious blue sky.
       Thank you for allowing me to share some thoughts on our 
     flag and its significance with you. I appreciate your kind 
     attention, and I hope you have been moved to join us in our 
     quest for a constitutional amendment to protect the flag.
       God bless you, and God bless America.

                          ____________________