Reason and Rhetoric on Flag Burning and Free Speech

It is possible to love America and hate the flag. I love America because it has taken great steps toward meaningful democracy, has taken in millions of immigrants from less-fortunate nations and has, for the most part, allowed its citizens to speak freely.

I hate the flag because it has become a shroud to conceal the crimes of militarists, would-be kings, racists, deadbeats and ethnocentrism.

Through assiduous propaganda, American society has forged a false connection between “support” for the flag and patriotism. True patriotism requires no symbol, rather it is demonstrated and fulfilled by deeds.

The kind of patriotism that I associate with the flag is the kind to which Samuel Johnson referred in saying, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

The danger to freedom is not from those who burn flags, but from those who wrap themselves in them.

DAVE McCOMBS

Santa Monica