[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 10, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1234-E1235]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            INFAMOUS ARTISTS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 1996

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, we can learn a great deal from small 
children. I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and 
other readers of the Record the following article from the ``American 
Legion Magazine''. These small children described in this article 
certainly know the difference between ``art'' and desecration of the 
American flag.

                            Infamous Artists

                          (By Joe Stuteville)

       Holland Cortright, a second-grader at Paradise Mountain 
     Christian Academy near Phoenix, Ariz., may be too young to 
     understand the artistic differences between a Van Gogh 
     painting and a ``Where's Waldo?'' illustration--but she does 
     know what she likes. When the Phoenix Art Museum this spring 
     unveiled a special exhibit in which American flags were 
     physically desecrated, Holland knew immediately what she 
     didn't like. And she decided to do something about it:
       ``Dear Sirs, Don't treat our American flag like you are. 
     Putting it in a toilet is disrespectful. When you step on the 
     flag it's like stepping on the people who died for our 
     country. . . Our country isn't going to be a country without 
     our flag. We love our flag!!''
       Eight-year-old Holland and several of her classmates at 
     Paradise Mountain Christian Academy were upset by local news 
     coverage of the exhibit, Old Glory: The American Flag In 
     Contemporary Art. Teacher Shelley Clinite suggested they 
     write the museum to express their feelings. The display to 
     which Holland's letter refers had a flag stuffed into a 
     toilet and was surrounded by jail bars. Another display 
     invited visitors to walk across a flag spread on the floor 
     and write their thoughts in a book. Yet a third flag had 
     human hair and flesh woven into the fabric.

[[Page E1235]]

       The youngsters were joined in their outrage by American 
     Legion family members from Phoenix and throughout the state, 
     who urged the museum to raise the white flag on its 
     controversial exhibit. Museum officials declined the request, 
     adding that to do so would infringe upon the First Amendment 
     rights of artists featured in the exhibit.
       ``We don't question any citizen's right to free speech or 
     freedom of expression,'' says James Phillips, commander of 
     The American Legion Department of Arizona. ``In fact, 
     Legionnaires defend the basic rights and freedoms of all 
     citizens as outlined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. 
     But this particular exhibit was violent and offensive because 
     it highlights obscenity, oppression and desecration of our 
     flag.''
       Arizona Post 1 member Pete Montoya and his son, Fabian, 
     were among the thousands who visited the exhibit during the 
     early days of its run. When they observed the flag on the 
     floor--a veritable doormat for the disillusioned--they were 
     moved to respond. Onlookers cheered when the father and son 
     picked up the flag, carefully folded it and removed it.
       ``I didn't want anyone stepping on it,'' 11-year-old Fabian 
     told reporters at the scene, Museum curators replaced the 
     flag later that day.
       It was clear the museum had no intention of either closing 
     or toning down the exhibit. So Legionnaires and other flag-
     loving citizens decided to exercise their own First Amendment 
     rights. At high noon on April 28, an estimated 2,500 people 
     gathered outside the museum to express their love and respect 
     for the U.S. Flag and the ideals it represents. The occasion 
     was an excellent forum to explain publicly why a 
     constitutional amendment is the only legal means by which the 
     flag can be protected from physical abuse.
       ``We stand firmly with the people of Arizona and across 
     this great land who find this display of hateful disrespect 
     for the flag truly objectionable,'' said retired Army Maj. 
     Gen. Patrick Brady, board chairman of the Citizens Flag 
     Alliance, Inc. (CFA). The Medal of Honor recipient of the 
     Vietnam War was invited to make remarks at the gathering, 
     along with Arizona Legion leaders and other CFA activists. 
     ``Most Americans find this exhibit a slam against the basic 
     values and respect for institutions most hold dear,'' he 
     said.
       The youngsters from Ms. Clinite's second-grade class were 
     among those in attendance at the Phoenix rally. In an area 
     not known for its rainfall, misty eyes were common as the 
     kids recited the Pledge.
       ``It is heartwarming to know citizens from every walk of 
     life, every age, creed and color consider the American flag a 
     symbol to be cherished, protected and respected,'' Phillips 
     said after the rally.
       Nor was all of the attention confined to Phoenix. Many in 
     Kentucky, Minnesota, Massachusetts and New Jersey opened up 
     their newspapers that Sunday and saw advertisements about the 
     museum exhibit. The ads contained information about how their 
     congressional lawmakers voted on the proposed flag amendment 
     in 1995.
       Senators Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., 
     and John Kerry, D-Mass., joined with 33 of their Senate 
     colleagues to defeat the amendment last December. Bob 
     Torricelli, D-N.J., was among the 120 House members who voted 
     against a similar amendment in June 1995, but that chamber 
     still passed the amendment by the required two-thirds vote.
       The advertisement included a toll-free telephone number for 
     readers to call and comment about the exhibit or discuss how 
     their lawmakers voted. More than 75 percent of the callers 
     said they support the amendment and requested more 
     information.
       The Phoenix exhibit opened in mid-March and was set to 
     close in mid-June, a few days after Flag Day.

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