[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 118 (Thursday, July 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            BANNING FLAG BURNING; ``EXTINGUISHING LIBERTY''

                                 ______


                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 20, 1995
  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, unaccustomed as I am to quoting Cal Thomas, 
I would like to share his column on amending the U.S. Constitution to 
allow prohibitions on burning the American flag with my colleagues. The 
article, from the May 6 issue of World magazine, follows:
                         Extinguishing Liberty

       Watching the Fourth of July festivities in Washington (and 
     around the country on television) showed the depth of love 
     most Americans have for this country. That is why a 
     constitutional amendment to ban the burning of the American 
     flag is so silly, stupid and unnecessary.
       No one forced the millions of people waving flags--who 
     respect and honor the republic for which it stands--to love 
     America. They exhibited a spontaneity no law can impose. When 
     the House last month passed a constitutional amendment that 
     would, should the Senate and states concur, outlaw flag 
     burning, it continued a game politicians have been playing 
     with public school prayer. The rules of the game are that the 
     social problems confronting America can be fixed from the 
     top--a kind of ``trickle-down'' morality.
       Politicians love this because they have done much to 
     promote such a view, which advances their careers and 
     preserves their jobs. Many others hold this belief because it 
     absolves them of responsibility for fixing what is wrong with 
     their own priorities and transfers it to government. And when 
     government increasingly reveals its inability to repair 
     social damage, we blame not ourselves but government and 
     politicians, deepening the cynicism against institutions and 
     those who work in them.
       There hasn't been a lot of flag burning since the Vietnam 
     War. Sen. Howell Heflin (D-Ala.) says that's why now, with 
     the heat of passion reduced, is the best time to ban it.
       But any time is a bad time for such a ban. First, what 
     constitutes a ``flag''? Is it only the cloth that waves from 
     a flagpole or can it be one that is stapled to a wooden 
     stick? Is the reproduction of the Stars and Stripes on a 
     napkin, patch, or coffee cup considered a flag? Some flags 
     are made in Taiwan or in other nations. Would they count as 
     American flags? I saw a chair upholstered in a flag. If the 
     chair was thrown on a bonfire during a protest rally, would 
     that violate the proposed constitutional amendment? And why 
     is burning being singled out for prohibition? What about 
     stomping, spitting or pouring paint on the flag?
       Those who would ban flag burning have placed the American 
     flag in a category and context that is idolatrous. Idolatry 
     is defined as ``the worship of a physical object as a god; 
     immoderate attachment or devotion to something.'' While we 
     don't worship or devote ourselves to the flag as we might be 
     a religious symbol or being, the attachment some would force 
     on the rest of us comes pretty close to resembling that 
     definition.
       The Fourth of July overwhelms us all with the number of 
     displayed and waved American flags. As with speech, the best 
     way to overcome the ugly variety is with more and more 
     beautiful speech, along with a common rejection of the ugly 
     speaker and his words. When a flag is burned, it is the 
     protester, not the flag, who is demeaned. He reveals his base 
     ingratitude when he burns a symbol of a nation great enough 
     even to allow him to indulge in moronic behavior.
       Banning flag burning will increase the probability flags 
     will be burned. Allowing it removes the political stinger.
     

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