Melanie+McNamara

Should we as Americans, be allowed to degrade the American flag?

"American Flag Decfaced...Okay with DNC?" //SodaHead//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .// //"The Daily What?"// Worldwide Fury over Film//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .//

//Court cases used in paper// In //Texas v. Johnson// the appellant, Gregory Lee Johnson burned and American in 1984. The ending ruling was that Johnson's act did not break any laws and that courts cannot rule a certain way because of personal feelings ("Texas v. Johson"). In //Spence v. Washington// the appellant, Spence hung a American flag outside his door with peace signs made out of tape attached to the flag. The court ruled that Spence was guilty of 'improper use.' ("Spence v. Washington, 418 U.S. 405 (1974)"). In //Street v. New York// the appellant Sydney Street pubically burned an American flag. The court ruled that his original arrest was unconstitutional and that people cannot be arrested for speaking about their dislike of the American flag. //What I Think...// I think that the degrading the American flag is ridiculous. I think that the flag is a national symbol of our nation and that people do not have to the to degrade/burn it. I think that while the First Amendment includes freeodm of speech this has it limits, and flag degrading is definantly off limit.

Works Cited "American Civil Liberties Union." //American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 21 Feb. 2003. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.// "Debate about Flag-burning Rekindled." //New York Daily News. N.p., 31 Jan. 2012. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.// "Flag- Burning Amendment Fails by a Vote." CNN//. Cable News Network, 28 June 2006. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.// "Flag Timeline." //Flag Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.// "Flag Amendment." //Freedom Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.// //"//Landmark Cases of the U.S. Supreme Court." //Background Summary & Questions//. //N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.// // "Spence v Washington, 418 U.S. 405 (1974)” Winters v New York, 333 US 507 (1948). //Law Today//. N.p., 4 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.// // " // Street v. New York." //Street v. New York. N.p., 21 Oct. 1968. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.// "Texas v. Johnson." //Texas v. Johnson.N.p., 21 Mar. 1989. Web. 25 Nov. 2012.// Volokh, Eugene // . " // Flag Burning and Free Speech // ." The Wall Street Journal////.N.p., 3 July 2009. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.


 * Pros || Cons ||
 * * Displaying Freedom of speech
 * Will not be thrown in jail as you would in other countries
 * Americans have the right to express themselves || * Society looks down upon you
 * Degrading an iconic symbol
 * Offending people ||