the reason why i almost did not celebrate 4th of july

[resonate]

the proposed amendment banning the physical desecration of the american flag on US soil. yes, for those of you who did not hear, this was voted on last week in the US senate. prior to this particular vote, the US house of representitives voted in favor of the amendment. the vote then moved on to the US senate, where it failed by one vote or something insanely close like that. i'm not saying that i want to burn an american flag to protest it, but had this amendment passed i would reject any person who would ever dare to say i am free. the passing of this amendment would have made me want to physically desecrate the US flag. why? because this is a basic right of ours outlined in the bill of rights. numero uno, the freedom of expression. the US flag is simply a symbol, so burning or destroying the symbol is an expression of how one feels towards what that symbol represents. the person doing this is showing disrespect for his/her country. if this act of expression was made illegal, imagine what else they could make illegal. not standing up during the national anthem is showing disrespect for your country, so that should be illegal too right? and you can say, well if you don't like this country, then you should get out, but that is not what this is about, it is about having the right to expressing your political views no matter what they are.

[Howie]

I can't stand flag burning. I can get into an entire topic to why,as you probably could too resonate. But as unhappy as I am to see this, I must agree with you. So it is not as if I agree with burning the flag, it is as you pointed out a smaller portion of a whole =

[Alric]

How about the meeting the UN had right on the 4th of july to talk about creating an international law to ban guns?

[Peregrinus]

Originally posted by Alric How about the meeting the UN had right on the 4th of july to talk about creating an international law to ban guns? Since the NRA has more guns than the UN, I think that'll be a tough sell in the US. The phrase "pry them from my cold dead fingers," comes to mind... Steven Colbert did a pretty good Word about that UN resolution on the Colbert Report a week or so ago. Just remember, guns don't kill people - bullets do. (The guns help, of course, as it's kinda tough to sling-shot a bullet with laser accuracy at supersonic speeds.)

[Dangeruss]

sigh. America doesn't live up to its own ideals. I'm very disappointed with my country right now for a host of reasons, and right now I'm trying to decide whether I want to live here when I grow up or not. Right now, I'm leaning towards no. American ideals emphasize personal freedom. And yet, with the current state of affairs, personal freedom is becoming more scarce in America than in europe or canada. Congress is debating whether to censor the internet, something you'd expect from communist china, not the supposed land of the free. NSA wiretapping. The patriot act. In America, the government mandates that companies hold on to personal information of their clients for two years, whereas in europe, companies are required to immediately destroy customer information after it is no longer needed. It makes me uneasy that my government is using big brother tactics to gather information on its own citizens when we're supposed to be all about privacy and personal freedom. American ideals include arming the citizenry so that can reforge the government when it becomes opressive. Well, we're heading that way right now, but I don't see any signs of revolution around. My history teachers always cite how the constitution has been the law of the land for over 200 years.. like thats a good thing. I think it's time to recreate, but everyone else seems caught up in a conservative backlash. oh well. And of course the American dream. I hate it. no need to elaborate.

[resonate]

Originally posted by Dangeruss My history teachers always cite how the constitution has been the law of the land for over 200 years.. like thats a good thing. I think it's time to recreate, when the constitution, along with its checks and balances, was written, the writers never considered the creation of a different institution, the corporation, because it simply didn't exist then. today we lose our freedoms in the name of making money. this isn't evident only for the employees who lose the freedom to dress certain ways or express certain opinions, but also with the customers, for example, the situation involving the internet and anytime you step into a stadium and can't bring in outside food. this is actually a part of my job, i work for a security company and one of our postitions is bag checker, where we check for weapons and the like, but also stop people from bringing in outside food. i tell these people that they can't bring this in, or that in, THAT THEY PAID FOR, 30 seconds ago in some situations. so they throw the food away, and don't think anything of it. it's almost like its programed into these people's heads that they must obey in the name of money. the reason for not allowing people to bring in outside food is only to create a monopoly inside of the stadium so the vendors can charge an arm and a leg for the hot dogs and beer and what not.

[Dangeruss]

that's just horrible! you're right though, lots of things have come up since the constitution was written. Corporations, and with them, lobbyists, make political corruption commonplace, only it happens on massive scales now instead of with small groups of insiders. You and I both know that cannabis isn't illegal because it's a danger to our health. If it were legal, lots of people would lose their jobs, and hundreds of cleptocratic rings would be shut down. No more giving out tax money for 'drug task forces,' no more evidence rooms full of free reefer, it's all a nightmare to cops and politicians. So it becomes an issue of money rather than morality, and that's the story of our great nation these days.

[rexle]

actually the first ammendment doesn't say anything about freedom of expression it say : "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." freedom of speech is the closest thing mentioned in that to freedom of expressioin. burning a flag speech. but i do agree that that is a stupid law.