Boy Scout that I am, I built a fire and lit it with only one match yesterday -- no paper, no accelerants (I've still got it). Then we grilled steaks. After supper, I stoked up the fire good and hot. Then I went and fetched two old, faded, ratty, full-sized US flags I'd been meaning to dispose of and burnt them.
The US Flag Code says that worn-out flags should be disposed of in a dignified manner, preferably by burning. The proposed amendment to the Consitution that the US House of Representatives keeps passing would outlaw any desecration of the flag -- and they have burning it as a form of protest in mind.
I'm as conservative as you like, but I think that amendment is a colossal waste of energy, as well as a bad idea on the merits. For it is only the context of the act which determines which burning is a proper, dignifed disposal of the symbol and which is an outrageous affront to the nation. Context in this case means both social context and the context of my personal intent. The government has no business regulating social contexts short of a riot (that's freedom of assembly for you), and sure as all get out has ZERO business mucking about inside my head.
I have spent my entire life showing honor to the flag, displaying it properly, caring for it conscientiously, and teaching new generations so to do -- and I think heavy-handed prohibitions from on high are stupid, as well as impugning the majesty of our Constitution by cluttering up its concise, clearly-written text.
