Should Government Make Disrespecting the Flag or National Anthem Illegal?
The recent rush to kneel or otherwise refuse to show deference for the National Anthem among professional football players has prompted a wave of anger among Americans who find such displays deeply offensive. Military veterans in particular have voiced outrage. This new political fad began with former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began refusing to stand for the National Anthem last season to protest alleged racial injustices against blacks in the United States. Other NFL players soon followed Kaepernick’s example, continuing the protests into this season. After President Donald Trump criticized the protests and opined that such players should be fired or otherwise disciplined for such behavior, the movement mushroomed into an all-out push by players and many coaches to defy the president. The latest twist in this saga saw Vice President Mike Pence walk out of a football game after players knelt for the anthem, prompting predictable howls of outrage among members of the anti-Trump media.
Such acts of disrespect toward revered national symbols are deeply offensive to many patriotic Americans. They amount to yet another instance of spoiled entertainers using their public platforms to bite the hand that feeds them — in this case, the country whose free and open society allowed them to become successful. But should such conduct be illegal?
Younger Americans might not remember a similar controversy that boiled over in the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was president. Then, as now, virulent leftists, afraid that their faction’s death grip on America’s political and cultural institutions might be jeopardized by the Reagan administration, staged a number of demonstrations in which American flags were trampled on and burned. Then, as now, millions of patriotic Americans were outraged, so much so that a concerted effort was made to make such displays illegal. It was even proposed that the Constitution be amended to criminalize flag desecration.
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