Flag burning should be allowed

Flag burning can only occur (discounting accidents such as a house fire) if 1) the burner is expressing hate for the government or country or 2) the burner is being forced to by someone else in order to express their hate for said government or country. In either instance, hate is the motivational force behind the burning. Good deeds do not solely rely on flag burning, they can be done by means OTHER THAN flag burning (What good deed requires a fire? And what fire cannot be started without an alternate fuel source?). Because there are other ways to accomplish the same good deeds WITHOUT the use of flag burning--flag burning ought to be illegal because such an action can potentially cause (and certainly be manipulated TO cause) war and will inherently cause damage to people. Flag burning can start a war either intentionally or unintentionally (i.e. the wrong way to do a good deed). In the case of unintentional: If an individual burns another nation's flag; a nation with a corrupt government, a volatile dictator, a violent public, or one that is in the midst of political instability and social unrest; this action may cause the example nation to act rashly and retaliate in violence. Such escalation in action, the trading of blows between two nations, will inherently lead to war. A nation which starts a war over an unintentional violent act will not stop, will not surrender until it is either unable to continue or the burner's nation is destroyed. It cannot be determined which nations will act as such and therefore, in order to prevent war, flag burning under all circumstances (except proper disposal) ought to be illegal. Because my opponent has already mentioned the exception of war, I will not thoroughly discuss the intentional use of flag burning to start a war. Flag burning can be used as political propaganda to excite the antagonistic and violent feelings of the nation's own people and enemy or to intimidate an opposing country. Terrorism is defined as "the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes" (1). Intentional burning is a symbolic threat of what will happen to the other nation if it does not cave in to our demands. All forms of terrorism ought to be illegal and flag burning is no exception. My opponents third exception to flag burning was "If the burning flag is used to damage people in any other way or their property". Flags are much more than pretty scraps of cloth; they are symbols of a country's past, hardships, ideals, aspirations, and identity. To attack a flag is to attack these very symbols; symbols which are closely tied to the individual's emotions. Flag burning is a psychological and emotional attack (much like Koran burning or Bible burning). To watch your flag go up in flames; that is painful. Is not psychological and emotional damage to the person still damage? Whether the flag burning is aggressive or non-aggressive; flag burning is a wound to many individuals' national pride, a wound to their psyche, and a wound to the memory of their forefathers risking their lives for their nation. In order to stop this assault on the individuals of a nation, in order to stop this mental abuse, in order to stop the damage being done to people; flag burning ought to be illegal. (1) http://tiny.cc...