No flag burning when I?m king

Congress has determined it?s still legal to burn the American flag. And this news comes just in time for the Fourth of July.

Think of the possibilities. After gulping down potato salad and homemade ice cream this Tuesday, it?s OK to mix in a few flags when lighting sparklers for the kids. When lighting the charcoal on the grill, light a few American flags in the process.

As you can probably tell, I?m not a fan of burning or desecrating the American flag. I guess I?m funny that way. Some might call it weird. I say it?s patriotic.

The way I view the issue, it?s a great insult to see Iraqis or North Koreans, for example, burning our flag. It?s an even bigger insult when Americans do it because it?s like a member of our own team has turned on us.

But alas, I?m also working on improving my level of tolerance. Just because I believe people who desecrate our flag should be prosecuted for treason doesn?t mean that should be the law of the land. People who support flag burning contend it?s free speech. They say it?s a viable ? and perfectly legal ? way to show displeasure with U.S. policies.

While it?s easy to want to strangle such people, I keep reminding myself about tolerance. Until I?m named king (and for the record that would be the best thing to ever happen to this nation), I have to remember to accept the views of others.

Another example of this is the pro-life license plates the state of Tennessee will begin selling this fall. I?m against abortion and have always held a pro-life stance, but I don?t like the idea of a pro-life license plate one bit.

If you want to have a pro-life message on the back of your car, that?s fine. In technical terms, that?s what we call a bumper sticker. The state has absolutely no business producing ? and profiting ? from license plates with a pro-life message.

Here?s a license plate message I?d like to see. Since Tennessee ranks 48th in the nation in the health of its residents, in part because of our obesity problem, how about this license plate, ?Put down the donut.?

Or here?s one for the cellphone users of the state who choose to pay more attention to their phone conversation than the road. ?Hit a tree ? not me!?

But alas, I must work on my tolerance because I?m not king. If the state wants to put political messages on its license plates, I need to learn to accept it.

Just like I need to accept gay couples, even though I don?t agree with that lifestyle. The anti-gay lobby has become a powerful one and it?s all too easy to sing that song. By now most of us know the chorus.

Gay people are living in sin. They have no right to violate the sanctity of marriage. Their unions should not be officially recognized by the government. Yes, it is a catchy tune and one I?ve found myself singing.

But alas, I can?t forget my tolerance. It?s different strokes for different folks. This world is made up of all different people and it?s not my job to play king (unless I?m one day named king).

My point is I can?t force feed my values to the rest of the country and that?s an attitude we must all try harder to accept as we prepare to celebrate our nation?s independence. What makes this country the greatest nation in the world is our ability to say what we want, regardless of whether others approve of the message.

Even if I don?t like the idea of burning the American flag, I must understand freedom of expression makes this country great.

Once we stop remembering tolerance and begin removing freedoms, we start to skip down a dangerous path. Because it won?t be long before someone tries to snatch a freedom we enjoy.

James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].