Originally posted by: DealMonkey
Originally posted by: Bowfinger
The flag is not America. It is a symbol, a symbol not just of America, but of America's most noble principles like liberty and justice and equality. The very first such liberty, from the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights is freedom of speech. It is fundamental to America's greatness. Compromising the principles America and the American flag represent doesn't show respect. It shows disdain, even outright contempt. It shows that you don't really believe in America's principles, that the symbol of liberty has somehow become more important than the actual liberty it symbolizes. As MB pointed out so eloquently, that is "servile symbol worship", not respect for America.
And furthermore, those same pandering, superficially-patriotic senators would do better to focus on the things that really
do tarnish America's image. Baseless, pre-emptive wars based on a pile of fabricated BS. Torture. Indefinite imprisonment. Spying on its own citizens and the world's citizens. Flipping off the international community of virtually every single issue.
Those things hurt this country even more than burning some inanimate object.
As usual, our Congress and our Administration have their priorities ass-backwards.