One Radical Opinion

by "Radical" Russ Belville
Monday, June 20, 2005

"Radical" Russ Belville was born on the first day of the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War in the town of Nampa in the "red" state of Idaho, where any opinion to the left of Reagan gets you labeled as "radical". He currently resides in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon (a.k.a. "Little Beirut") where he works in Information Technology. In his spare time, he enjoys writing about current events, playing the six-string bass guitar, and volunteering for liberal political causes. You can contact him via e-mail at letters 'at' radicalruss.net.

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Of all the stupid, un-American, anti-Liberty waste-of-time, unimportant piece-of-crap ridiculous legislation the Senate could consider, this is it.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate may be within one or two votes of passing a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the U.S. flag, clearing the way for ratification by the states, a key opponent of the measure said Tuesday.

"It's important that we venerate the national symbol of our country," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the amendment's chief sponsor. "Burning, urinating, defecating on the flag -- this is not speech. This is offensive conduct."

Hmm, apologizing for racist murder by lynching wasn't important enough for you to originally co-sponsor, Orrin, but protecting a piece of cloth from desecration is. You malodorous turd. And should I be surprised that Idaho's senators, Craig and Crapo, are both signed on as co-sponsors?

Lest anyone think I'm a big fan of flag burning, let me make this clear: it absolutely disgusts me. I love America and I served this country and saluted that flag while in uniform. And I support the troops and mom and apple pie.

However, what I love more than a symbol on a piece of cloth is the idea of liberty and the value of freedom of speech. I like the idea that any citizen can criticize any person in power. I like the idea that idea that bold, provacative statements are encouraged and stupid, offensive opinions are tolerated.

Is it offensive conduct, as Orrin suggests? Absolutely. But if we only protect the warm fuzzy feelgood speech while criminalizing the speech we find offensive, we make a mockery out of the ideals America was founded on. It may bother you that those ideals protect Benny Hinn's hucksterism and Larry Flynt's Hustler, but they do.

Besides, what harm is done from burning a flag? Is America so weak and filled with low self-esteem that burning her flag will hurt her feelings? Will burning a flag bring down our society? America believes so much in liberty that she should proudly allow her people to make the most offensive statements about her.

Furthermore, how much does the flag-burning amendment cover? If I print a flag on a piece of paper and burn that, am I prosecuted? It is the same exact statement. What if I make a close replica of a flag, say 49 stars and 12 stripes, and burn that? How about an exact flag replica, but with a green-white-and-purple color scheme?

And what about the flags that are so tattered or soiled that they are supposed to be burned, according to US Flag Code?

Section 8. -- Respect for flag

No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor...

[Subsection] k. The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.

Yes, I know the difference between respectful ceremonial burning of a flag and offensive protest. The point is to show it is not the burning of the flag that is offensive, it is the motive of the burner. You're prosecuting someone for expressing an opinion. You're writing discrimination based on governmental loyalty into the Constitution.

I guess this should not come as a surprise. Last election's Defense of the Precarious State of Heterosexual Marriage from the Queer Onslaught amendments wrote discrimination based on sex into the Constitution. We're in a mighty discriminatin' mood these days as an electorate.

My red state friends and family, think of this from a practical standpoint. You don't want to see any flags burning. It's bad enough to see those Arabs doing it in the desert with their poorly-sewn flag replicas. Do you want to see young white college kids burning Chinese-made Wal-Mart Brand American flags on American soil? What do you suppose rebellious kids in college towns will start doing once you tell them it's unconstitutional?

Trust me, as a wacky left coaster, you're better off dropping the flag burning amendment. I'll let you in on a little secret from my meetings with the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy -- we love America.

No, it's true. Many of us are from poor and working class families. Many of us come from immigrant families that looked to America like heaven. Many of us have served in the military or have family in the military (and certainly many sacrificed more than I did as a tuba player in a National Guard band) and take that flag thing seriously, too.

I went to a Portland protest of George W. Bush's inauguration. At the end of the parade as dusk descended, some of the less-politically-motivated Doc-Maarten's-boots-wearing teenagers tried to get attention by burning a flag. A large circle formed awaiting to see the result.

Then one man in a Vietnam-era camouflage coat came over to the teenager. Another Vietnam-era gentleman in a wheelchair lingered behind. There was some discussion, but neither's body language was menacing. The camo man walked away and the teenager resumed trying to burn the flag. Trying vainly, because the flag had been treated with a fire retardant. Most of the crowd wandered away and a few voices of criticism were heard shouting back at the teenager.

I caught up to camo man and asked him what he said to the kid. He said, "I told him he should knock it off, man. The longer you live and the more you learn, the more you're going to regret doing this. Your problem ain't with the flag, your problem is with the m*****f****** behind it."

If you just drop the flag-burning thing, it'll happen once or twice a year and not make much news. Most of your moderate liberals will support the right to burn a flag but also berate the flag-burners back to the fringe element. But when you tell them they can't burn the flag, not only will you see hundreds of burning flags making constant news, but the moderate liberals jump ship to support the free speech rights of the fringe.

But that's what you want, isn't it? For the boots on the ground, it's about protecting America's dignity and supporting the troops and honoring the war dead. At the top levels of the Rove-osphere, though, it's about distraction. It's about divide and conquer.

What better appetizer could Karl Rove ask for the buffet that will be the 2006 Congressional Elections? This is the last chance for the Democrats to take back just one of the seats of power, the House of Representatives, which does maintain those pesky rights of inquiries, supeonas, and impeachment. Winning 2006 is that last step to pulling off the "perfect job" that eluded the last bunch of executive branch CREEPs.

The Anti-Flag Burning Amendment is perfect. All Republicans can jump on it without fear. Democrats can be forced into the mealy-mouthed position again, trying to explain to a sheep rancher in Iowa why he hates flag burning but supports free speech.

And it has the same state-by-state legislative effect as the Anti-Fag Marrying Amendment had last year. If the amendment passes the House and Senate, it then has to be reviewed by all fifty state legislatures and approved by 34 of them. Yee-haw! Every local and state politician and their attendant local media will have to spend time jockeying for position on which one of them loves Old Glory more.

Meanwhile, a war rages on in Iraq, a resistance grows stronger, oil is still getting expensive, pollution is finding its way into our food, the earth seems to be getting hotter, we're really not very well protected against terrorism, there's several million people dying in Africa from preventable causes, Osama bin Laden's still running around, and Lindsay Lohan is looking dangerous thin!