Destroy property

Hi, my name is Sean, and I am a flag burner.

(no, wait, that isn't what I mean...)

Hi, my name is Sean, and I approve of burning the flag.

(hmm... not really, I mean, I would rather people not burn the flag...)

Hi, my name is Sean, and I don't approve of burning the flag, you Nazi cows.

(well, that's closer; I don't want to see people burning the flag, but I don't want to see a law against it, either. And using the word "Nazi" means you have lost the argument before it starts. Let's see if I can clarify things just a little bit more...)

Hi, my name is Sean, and I'm just a guy. I'm not a patriot; I'm not an anarchist; I'm not a socialist.

I'm just a guy.

I'm not planning on burning the flag, but I'm not going to pull a Rick Monday and take the flag away from someone who is planning on it, either.

I'm just a guy.

Burning a flag can represent some strong feelings against the United States of America, or the administration at the time; it can represent utter despair over the course of current military action, or it can simply be a desire to draw attention to a certain cause.

The American flag is a symbol of certain beliefs and values. Oooh, that's good. Let me state that again. The American flag is a symbol of certain beliefs and values. It isn't those values. Burning the flag may show contempt for those values, or maybe not; you can't make that determination without knowing the person and their motivation. But burning the flag does not stamp out those values and beliefs. If anything, burning the flag is those beliefs and values in action. Freedom of speech. Freedom of peaceful assembly. Freedom to protest our government in a lawful manner, because let's face it, this isn't the Adams administration and the Alien and Sedition Act is no longer in force. We do have the right to protest the government.

You can't outlaw flag burning. You can't. Oh, you can try, and you may be able to get something on the books, but if you outlaw flag burning then you need to outlaw tea party assemblies and "Obama as The Joker" signs as well. Ooh, I just hit someone too close to the belt. Protest is protest. If you want the right to protest, even if your protest simply exposes your idiocy, then the other side has the right to protest as well, even if the other side is as ugly as their backside.

What about those people who picket military funerals? Well... I would have a hard time banning something like that. I certainly think funerals are solemn occasions, a time for mourning, a time to say goodbye. It isn't a time to score some sort of political point. It certainly isn't a time to show up because you know you'll be seen. Let me repeat that in a different way. If you want to get rid of people picketing military funerals, then you need to rid yourself of the people who come in from town and wave their flags and carry their banners because they want their picture to be in the paper so people can see how patriotic they are.

In other words, funerals should be for the family and close friends. Not for the neighbors who lived next door to the guy but only saw him when he was mowing the lawn; not for the guy who beat the crap out of him in high school because he liked different bands; not for the couple who brought their kids by for Halloween and didn't see him again until next Halloween. Funerals aren't a photo-op.

So let's try this again.

Hi, I'm Sean, and I'm in favor of people exercising their freedoms with copious amounts of common sense.

(Yeah, I think that sums it up well. But what do I know. I'm just a guy.)