PLATFORM : It’s Our Symbol

When I look at the American flag, I see more than the red, the white and the blue. To me, the blue represents the freedom that we enjoy, the ability to go out and vote. The white represents the purity of our nation that we try to maintain. We may not reach it, but at least we try. Red represents the blood that’s been spilled over the countless years that we’ve had to try to keep democracy as we have it.

When I think that anybody can take that flag and put it on the ground and step on it, I get a little bit emotional. It’s ignorance. The individual is not aware of what the symbol means. I’m not sure that a constitutional amendment is going to make it any more difficult for a guy to burn the flag. If they want to burn the flag, they’re going to burn the flag. If we had a constitutional amendment, what are we going to do to the guy, incarcerate him? I’m not sure that’s the answer, because now we’ve made a martyr out of this individual. It’s a moral thing, I don’t think you can legislate it.