We Interrupt This Blog

to bring you an important action alert from ABFFE, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. This came in today's email. My commentary to follow (but, of course!)

Flag Amendment Close to Passage

Efforts to approve the first exception to the First
Amendment appear perilously close to success.  As
early as tomorrow, the Senate is expected to vote
on an amendment that will allow both Congress and
the states to outlaw the burning of the American flag
during protests. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled
that flag burning is a form of speech and, therefore,
protected by the First Amendment.However, the House
of Representatives has repeatedly approved a change
in the First Amendment that would authorize laws against
flag burning. The Senate has blocked the amendment so
far, but the margin of victory has shrunk to the point
where a single vote may determine the outcome. If the
amendment passes, there is little doubt that it will be
quickly ratified by the necessary number of state
legislatures.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
(ABFFE) and other critics of the flag burning amendment
have expressed concern that it will lead to the suppression
of a legitimate if controversial protest tactic. We also
believe that amending the First Amendment will create a
precedent that makes it easier to pass subsequent changes,
eroding the most important bulwark for free expression.

Opponents of the flag amendment should call their
Senators in Washington immediately.  Click here 
to find the telephone numbers for your Senators.

And now, on to the commentary. I agree wholeheartedly with ABFFE's position on this. Yeah, yeah, no one likes to see a burning flag. I get why it outrages people, but it is, quite simply, an act of free expression. It might be a distasteful one, but there are loads of those. If you start by banning this one, where do you stop? One of the rights we all should hold dear is the right to express ourselves in the manner in which we see fit.

I love our flag. I think it's beautiful. I'm the first one to be outraged when I see a tattered flag flying, or when someone fails to remove their flag in bad weather, or lower it at half-staff to mark a death. So, when someone feels the need to burn a flag, I have to believe that they are so angry or so frustrated that they simply do not know how else to express it, and they wish to get people's attention by doing so. And they generally do.

Our civil liberties are at stake here. I can hear you say, "But I'm not a flag burner, Kay!" Okay, maybe you're not, but if they take away this form of expression, what is next? No scenario is too crazy here. We live in a time of erroding civil liberties and challenges to our right to free expression--don't believe me, just follow some of the things being done under the guise of the USA PATRIOT act. We should all be concerned, even if it doesn't impact us directly today. It might tomorrow.

Please, take a moment and call your Senators.

Good night, and good luck.