The American Flag Burning Heard Analysis

The American flag is a sacred symbol of the freedom that the United States of America has. In 1777, the American flag was made an official ensign for America, and to this day, the only thing that has changed about the flag is the number of stars on it. The flag is not just a symbol for the people that live in America, but also for the people that live in other countries. People in other countries that wish to immigrate to America see the flag for what it truly represents, freedom. Although, the American flag is not just a symbol of freedom, it is also a symbol for America a nation. In Gerald R. Webster 's article, "American Nationalism, The Flag, and The Invasion of Iraq," Webster discusses the symbolic nature of the American flag. In Neil A. Lewis 's article "Arguments on Flag Burning Heard," he describes the U.S. Supreme Courts perspective on the burning of the American flag. Douglas W. Kmiec interprets two very famous cases in regards of the burning of the American flag in his article, "In the aftermath of …show more content…
Johnson and United States v. Eichman. In Douglas Kmiec 's article, he says, "The anti-flag outcome of both cases triggered widespread and sincere outrage on the part of the American public and equally insincere partisanship by some of its elected officials." A majority of American people strongly disagreed with the rulings in both cases and what the rulings were based upon. When the U.S. Supreme Court made their decision they did not take into consideration that without any form of communication accompanying the action of burning the American flag, there would be no need to allow the burning of the American flag legal using the first amendment. Lewis says, "Congress should have the authority to protect those things that are special to us as a people." The American flag is an important symbol to most nationalistic and patriotic Americans, so it should be