Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

Burn, Baby, Burn

Senate Rejects Flag Desecration Amendment
The amendment’s opponents agreed that flag burning is repugnant, but argued that U.S. troops died to preserve freedoms that include controversial political statements.

Exactly.

Actually, I think flag burning is more than just repugnant. It’s stupid. It provokes such strong emotional responses in many people that they become unable to rationally consider whatever issue it is the flag-burner is protesting to begin with. You don’t win people over to your side by pissing all over their beloved symbols.

True, there are flag-burners who are doing it only to make people angry. They don’t have any larger issues to which they’re trying to draw attention. These people are idiots. They’re not worth the energy required for getting angry.

What people need to remember is that the flag is just a thing. Flag-burning is only a powerful statement if you personally take it to be one. The best defense against people who want to insult you by wrecking your favorite symbols is to simply ignore them.

Better yet: Laugh at them. Mock them! Try saying this to them: “What? You’re too dumb to form a cogent argument for your point of view, so you resort to flag burning? What a pathetic lame-ass thing to do!”

That’ll get ‘em.