Flag Burning Should Be Illegal

The FlagThe US flag and all flags are powerful symbols and are more than just cloth that you can burn in order to express your freedom of speech. The flag consists of a few key components that we must review:50 stars13 stripsred, white and blue - 50 stars represent each of the 50 states currently in the Union- 13 stripes to represent the original 13 colonies of the British Empire- red for the blood shed and valor- white for purity and innocence- blue for justice and vigilance[1]Now as we can see the flag is a representation of everything from our history to our values and is far more than a simple symbol but a complex weave of America that we use to represent the entire country. The Pledge of AllegianceMost, if not all, Americans have said the Pledge of Allegiance at some point in their lifetime. Now many people don't think twice about saying it but it is a binding pledge. I Pledge Allegiance I Promise to be faithful and true (Promise my loyalty) to the flag to the emblem that stands for and represents of the United States all 50 states, each of them individual, and individually represented on the flag of America yet formed into a UNION of one Nation. and to the Republic And I also pledge my loyalty to the Government that is itself a Republic, a form of government where the PEOPLE are sovereign, for which it stands, this government also being represented by the Flag to which I promise loyalty. one Nation under God, These 50 individual states are united as a single Republic under the Divine providence of God, "our most powerful resource" (according to the words of President Eisenhower) Indivisible, and can not be separated. (This part of the original version of the pledge was written just 30 years after the beginning of the Civil War and demonstrates the unity sought in the years after that divisive period in our history) with Liberty The people of this Nation being afforded the freedom to pursue "life, liberty, and happiness", and Justice And each person entitled to be treated justly, fairly, and according to proper law and principle, for All. And these principles afforded to EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria. Just as the flag represents 50 individual states that can not be divided or separated, this Nation represents millions of people who can not be separated or divided. [2] As we can see here the Pledge has a large meaning that you are bound to accept and defend once it is recited. Pledging your allegiance to something says that you will always stay loyal to the thing you have pledged yourself to and cannot be undone unless you specifically denounce the pledge which in this case means becoming an ex-patriot. The Pledge is similar to things like:marriagecontracts and other binding agreementsYou can't just get out of it whenever you'd like. To get out of the pledge you must then get out of your US citizenship by emigrating. When the Pledge is spoken you are promising to be faithful and true to the flag and all it represents. You are pledging your loyalty to the flag itself and the government it stands for. Your allegiance is to the flag and to the United States which stands behind it. Burning Burning is used as a message in order to convey displeasure, hate, protest or the cutting of ties with something such as the term bridge burning. When you burn the US flag you are in essence burning the nation it stands for, burning all of the values it stands for and in turn you are cutting yourself off and alienating yourself from the United States of America. That being said. .. Treason treason - a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state. [3] As you can see by this definition, treason constitutes violating your allegiance to one's state. US citizens are born with an obligation and a natural allegiance to the United States which is then fortified and cemented by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The flag represents our sovereign state. By burning the symbol that represents the United States you are thereby denouncing everything the US stands for and you are showing that you are distancing yourself or cutting ties with the government it represents. Now this is a violation of your allegiance to the flag and therefore to the state it represents and is classified as treason. It is treasonous for a US citizen who has recited the Pledge of Allegiance to burn the Flag of the United States of America. Flag burning is not protected by the First Amendment anymore than saying "I'm going to kill the President" is or crying "bomb" on a plane. Flag burning is treason. Thank you. [1] . http://www.usconsulate.org.hk...[2] . http://www.homeofheroes.com...[3] . http://dictionary.reference.com...