Another day, another stupid political controversy. This time the controversy involves that symbol everybody loves to lose their shit over, the flag of the United States of America. Donald Trump tweeted that he thinks flag burners should be punished, which is yet another position he shares with Hillary Clinton. As expected, neocons have been jumping for joy at his proposal.
The nation’s skycloth is a symbol and as George Carlin once said, “I leave symbols to the symbol minded.” I’ve never burned a flag nor do I worship it. Another symbol of the United States of America is the Bill of Rights, which is a list of amendments that granted temporary privileges. The very first amendment states that freedom of expression is a protected right. So what we have here is an argument over which symbol sits higher on the Hierarchy of Symbols.
What takes precedence, the nation’s skycloth or the list of temporary privileges? I don’t really care what anybody’s answer to that question is but I feel that it’s important to clarify what people are actually arguing about.
Guilty confession: I did a spot of mild trolling on some site this morning where people were foaming at the mouth about what they’d do to anyone they caught burning a flag.
It occurs to me that these supposed tough guys are actually snowflakes, just like the leftist college students they despise. Who gives a flying F*** about a piece of cloth? Who lets it knock them so far off balance that they threaten extreme violence in response? These are emotional infants, no less than anyone on the left is.