Hey guys, it's Jasmine.
Today in class we were discussing Bill Clinton's quote from the Lit for Comp book, and we started talking about flag burning. Should it be a criminal act? Is it possible for someone to burn a flag without being unpatriotic?
I remember reading in Hayakawa back in the summer that words don't necessarily mean what you feel. Hayakawa gave this example: you can say "I'm hungry" when you're actually full. Nothing forces you to tell the truth - there's no absolute connection between the "symbol" (how you say you feel) and the thing symbolized (how you truly feel). For my scrapbook, I did a page on the Don Imus scandal. Don Imus claimed that he was neither racist nor sexist (after all, he runs a ranch for terminally ill kids every summer, and 50% are minorities, he claims). He said he was merely trying to entertain his listeners. No matter what, he shouldn't have said what he said. The words may not have represented Imus's true views, but he should have known that those words have horrible connotations and illict negative feelings. So, while it is possible to say a racist comment without being racist, or burn an American flag without being unpatriotic, the speaker has to realize that words are powerful and have the power to offend.
So, I think that it is possible for someone to burn a flag without trying to show his contempt for America. The flag-burner should, however, understand that his actions might be taken the wrong way by other people. As Hayakawa said, nothing means the exact same thing to two different people. So, I don't think flag-burning should be a punishable crime, but I understand that it's a risky move to take, since it's so deeply offensive. We all grow up saying the Pledge of Allegiance every day and learning about how Betsy Ross sewed the first flag. Thus, watching an American flag blowing in the wind or listening to the Star-Spangled Banner makes us feel patriotic and proud to be American - some people even get teary and emotional. Watching the American flag burn illicits an emotional response that is just as strong.
We also talked about why people burn flags. When we were discussing the topic in class, I was reminded of the story, "The Things We Carried" (also in Lit for Comp). The main character, Lietenant Jimmy Cross burns all of the letters from Martha, the girl he loves. He burns them because he thinks he can burn away the guilt he feels about Lavender's death. Later, he realizes he can't burn away the blame - since the letters don't physically contain the guilt he feels, he can't rid himself of the guilt. The letters are merely symbols. Likewise, when people burn flags, they are often trying to burn the ideals that the flag supposedly stands for. Although burning the flag won't actually destroy the country, it is a symbolic gesture.
What do you guys think?
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2 comments:
Hey, it's Erin.
I've never burned a flag, so I can't say exactly why people do it (and I'm sure there are many different reasons a person might do so) but I think the reason that people might burn the flag as a protest is because the action is so emotionally charge - it makes a statement (maybe not what the burner intended); it grabs people's attention. I suppose a protest really doesn't matter until people start to pay attention, to try to figure out what people are protesting about. If no one cares, your cause is lost.
Hey guys!
I know we began this debate a while ago, but while I was down in North Carolina for Spring Break touring colleges, I saw something that reminded me of our discussion - a Confederate Flag. As previously mentioned, many people easily mistake the symbol for what it symbolizes. Because the American flag symbolizes so many different things for so many different people, "interpretations" of the flag are infinite. I often think of the American flag as the symbol of my country, a basic mark of America. I never really associated the supposedly "American" values of "truth, justice, and the American way" as tangible parts within the flag, but some do. When I see an American flag, I have a positive reaction, but when I see a Confederate Flag, I have a negative reaction. Perhaps I am falsely associating the symbol and what I think it symbolizes,but when I see a Confederate flag, I'm reminded of the Civil War and the thousands of soldiers that died because they believed in their right to break from the Union and to preserve slavery. For all those APUS fans, we remember that the North fought for the Union and the South for independence. The Confederate flag represented the South as a separate and distinct entity, a new nation. But when Lincoln announced the additional justification for war, the abolition of slavery, the Southern symbol also came to stand for support of slavery and other Southern ideals.
These flags are still being flown today! When I see a Confederate flag flying above a home, I wonder if that person who owns that flag is proud to be an American, or proud to be a Southerner. I ponder the extent to which they support America as a whole, if they fly the flag to express lingering prejudice against African-Americans that stems from the War, or if they are innocently trying to embrace their Southern heritage.
When I see an American flag on the same flag pole as a Confederate flag, I just see a giant contradiction. What do you guys think?
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