The Sacred Object Project
Page 5
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This takes us back to that flag you made with your own hands. Although it stands for the
United States, it is -- after all -- just paper and a little colored wax or water color.
The flags that
fly over government buildings are just cloth and colored dye. Like we said already,
there's no holy man doing anything that makes US flags sacred. US citizens consider
flags sacred when they represent an America that they think is good and just.
What if the America that is represent by your flag -- a country that is governed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights -- were different from the real America of presidents, lawmakers and judges who don't care about citizens' rights? What if they ignored the First Amendment and sent the police and National Guard out to beat up citizens and put them in jail for protesting? What if citizens decided that the US is run by a bunch of bullies? That has happened before, and when it does, sometimes protesters decide that the flag isn't so sacred after all because the country it represents -- or the country's government -- is evil. So they burn their flags. Did you know that if a flag ever gets tattered or worn out -- even yours -- that a respectable way to dispose of it is to burn it? When protesters burn flags, they aren't disposing of worn out flags, they are making a statement in a way that gets other people's attention. They are expressing their anger. Are citizens allowed to express themselves, even if they are angry and even if it is the government with which they are angry? If you don't know the answer to that question, you haven't been reading carefully.
Is a piece of colored paper or cloth more sacred than the First Amendment? Is it more important than allowing citizens to get so angry with the government that they might 'desecrate' an American flag? If that old holy man Isaiah was alive today and he heard Senator Hatch call a flag 'sacred', do you think that Isaiah would agree? Or do you think Isaiah would laugh at him and call him silly for worshipping objects just like you or I might worship Jesus or the Mother Goddess or the Buddha? Are we asking you to burn that flag you just made? No, we are not. However, if the government ever does something that makes you so angry that you know the United States is no longer worthy of your respect, think about that flag and what it means. Think about what you might do to demonstrate that kind of anger at the US AND get the kind of attention that such a protest ought to get. While you are at it, you might think about what kind of person would like to put people in jail for burning a piece of cloth or paper as a method of protest. Ask yourself: Are people like that just bullies, or are they simply very confused about what is important and what truly deserves to be respected? How much does your freedom mean to you? |
US Senator Orrin Hatch isn't the only lawmaker, but he is one of the important ones who
dislikes flag burning so much, he wants to put a stop to it. -- even though it doesn't
happen very often. That doesn't mean he has thought of a better way to dispose of tattered
flags. He doesn't like people who burn flags as a method of protest. To Senator Hatch, any
US flag is more 'sacred' -- even the one you just made out of paper and colored wax -- than
the First Amendment right of people to express themselves. The flag is so very holy to
Senator Hatch that he would like to add another amendment to the Constitution that would
forbid people from protesting by burning or otherwise 'desecrating' a flag.
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