Some of the more astute students in our high school classes ask questions about everything. For example, they ask: “What does the Pledge of Allegiance mean, when it says, ‘ . . . and to the Republic for which it stands?'”
Is the Pledge all that important? Is the flag all that important?
Maybe. How would you answer that question, really?
Penn and Teller offer a demonstration:
What do you think? Did they burn a flag? Should that sort of performance be legal?
What if Penn and Teller burned a flag in the White House?
An exercise in ambiguity: A fictional drama about a sleight of hand, illusionary performance. (Best line: The answer to the question, “Did you go to law school?” For the record, yes, I did go to law school. I’m an amateur clown.)
Did you fly your flag yesterday?
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Kerry, that’s almost vicious! I’m still chuckling.
Kathryn points out that most Scout retirement ceremonies involve separating the field from the stripes, and the stripes from each other, before burning . . .
Seriously, we need a Flag Code update.
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Should someone with a flag tattoo not be allowed to be cremated?
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We need a good revision of the flag code. I think about 90% of the flag “desecrations” I see are actually done innocently, in an attempt to honor the flag.
Penn and Teller hit the right notes with these routines (they miss on other occasions).
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What’s a flag?
If I burn a copy of the Chicago Tribune, which prints the image of a flag on its masthead, have I burned a flag? What if they printed one in full color glory on the back page of the broadsheet?
What if I burn a piece of cloth with 51 stars on a blue field or one where the red and white strips are reversed or there are a different number of them? Is that a flag?
I’m supposed to burn old torn or soiled flags to dispose of them. Is it OK only if I have a Boy Scout present to give a salute.
So, it isn’t the *burning* that we really object to. It’s the disrespect to the symbol. That is, it is the *speech* that the burning represents in the hands of someone criticizing our country.
So, as people were posting Facebook statuses about the flag on Monday, I replied through my own that I find I have more allegiance to the Constitution and Declaration than I do to any mere symbol. They have meaning in and of themselves.
And, yes, I flew my flag on Monday.
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