A Burning Issue : Another Battle to Better Protect Old Glory? On This Fourth of July, Notable Divisions

Will there ever be a time when Americans don’t argue about how to properly use, respect and honor Old Glory?

Maybe.

The recent congressional defeat of a constitutional amendment banning flag desecration signaled an end to one battle over the flag.

But never underestimate the impact of what has become a new, continuing American summer pastime: the Great Flag Debate.

To some, this dispute centers on civil liberties and crucial constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression. To others, the argument focuses on patriotism and the protection of not just a symbol, but the nation itself.

Although Congress defeated the flag amendment, a Gallup Poll conducted for Newsweek magazine last month showed that 68% of Americans favor it. Further, in what may be a harbinger of the debate in this fall’s electoral campaigns, 73% of the respondents said that the issue was important to them when voting for candidates for governor or other state offices and Congress.

So it seems only appropriate on this Fourth of July to unfurl, with some notables, some thoughts pro and con on the question: “What does the American flag mean to you, and is there a need for more legal protections, such as a constitutional amendment, to protect it?”

“That next step beyond (the current debate) is to wrap yourself in a flame-proof flag. It is the phoniest of issues. It’s particularly infuriating at a time when the Soviet Union and other East European nations are trying to create their democracies and write their constitutions that we have a President who is willing to rewrite our Constitution to protect a bolt of cloth. These other people seem to have a much better understanding of the importance of freedom of expression. Our Constitution is considered a model by the rest of the world. . . . “

--Martin Cruz Smith, author of “Gorky Park” and “Polar Star.”

“In no way, size, shape or form can I see burning the flag as some constitutional freedom of expression. I buried my father on the Fourth of July last year, and the only thing I wanted from him was his discharge papers from World War II and the flag that covered his coffin. I know I function a lot on strictly Irish emotion. But the flag means an awful lot to me and always has. . . . I am frequently contacted (by the military) to witness the return of (the remains of) Vietnam MIAs at Travis (Air Force Base) and even though there’s never much more than 24 hours notice, I’ll always go. Because I just don’t want him (the MIA) to be alone. It was Jack London who wrote of the importance of building a fire because cold is the one element that will always destroy your instinct to fight, to survive. When a guy is an MIA, you know he died alone. He didn’t have his friends with him. He died in the cold. But when he comes home, and always in (a government) issue casket with the Stars and Stripes over it, the flag becomes a blanket to him. He’s warm. He’s home. That’s why the flag means so much. Can I argue this issue constitutionally? Nah. But how can (flag burning) ever be considered a freedom of expression? That is the most tortured interpretation ever of the Bill of Rights.”

--B.T. Collins, deputy state treasurer, ex-Green Beret captain, Vietnam veteran and a driving force in the building of a California Vietnam Veterans War Memorial.

“The flag stands for the promise of America. It represents our highest hopes and ideals. The Bill of Rights is what makes this country different from every other country in the world and I think we should be guarding the Bill of Rights in the same way people who are against flag burning want to guard the flag. . . . The promise of America is the right to dissent, and flag burning is one way of dissenting.”

--Ramona Ripston, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

“I love the flag because it is the symbol of the constitutional government that guarantees the freedoms of the land of the free and home of the brave. It means we are free. It’s what we tell the world that we are . . . free to speak out, to criticize, to rail against. And brave enough to allow anyone who disagrees with us to do the same thing--to speak out, to criticize and to rail against, in all ways.”

--Norman Lear, producer and founder of People for the American Way, a civil liberties activist group.

“When I see the flag, I see the ultimate expression of the Judeo-Christian ethic and the culmination of Western political thought, beginning with Plato and ending with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The flag represents those Western ideals to which all men aspire--liberty, representative government, religious tolerance and limited government. Unfortunately, we Americans don’t always live up to those ideals. But that is more a stain on us as men than on our flag. Because of the unique nature of our flag . . . it is deserving of protection. By denying people the ‘right’ to burn the flag we are in no way denying them their right to express themselves politically. After all, there are a million ways to express the political thought conveyed by flag burning . . . the speech itself would not be prohibited, but the conduct, the mode of speech, would.”

--Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), who voted in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment

“After 200 years, the flag still means land of the free, not land of the free only if you agree.”

--Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.), who got wrapped up in the 1989 flag debates when she appeared on the cover of Ms. magazine draped in Old Glory . She voted against the proposed constitutional amendment.

“I burn the flag figuratively in my film with the heat of my own body. Flag burning is OK only if you get to roast marshmallows over it.”

--Sandra Bernhard, actress, who appears draped in the flag in a poster promoting her film “Without You I’m Nothing.” In the new film’s finale, she does a striptease in an Old Glory G-string.

“In terms of semantics, (flag waving) is patriotic insanity. You know the rule: The menu is not the meal, the map is not the territory. As a stand-up political satirist, reality keeps nipping at my heels. . . . On stage, I (once) said that even though it’s still legal to burn the flag, it’s OK for the cops to look the other way if anyone wants to beat up the flag burner. Then there was a news item stating that the Louisiana House passed a bill lowering to $25 the fine against anyone who assaults people who burn the American flag. David Duke, Republican senator and former Ku Klux Klan leader, led the fight in support of the bill. So it’s OK to burn a cross, but not the flag. And all the Louisiana legislators who were against him being in the House at all were lining up behind his idea that it’s OK to beat up dissidents. This makes a vicious joke of law and order--it uses the law to encourage vigilante law breaking. Even in my satirical exaggeration, I didn’t go that far. By the way, I’ve never burned a flag. It’s not creative.”

--Paul Krassner, editor of The Realist and stand-up political satirist.

“People who burn a flag are screaming out for their problems to be heard, instead of ignored. Jailing them for it is like hiding behind the flag and ignoring the problems even longer. Don’t alter the First Amendment just to deal with this issue. Its freedoms are too precious. The flag is a cherished symbol; it doesn’t speak for my country. Our people’s actions, our country’s actions--sometimes good, sometimes not--speak for themselves.”

--Casey Kasem, broadcast personality.

“As a boy growing up in Korea 45 years ago, I viewed the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ with envy, awe and wonder--like a child dreaming about Santa Claus and all those gifts. At the tail end of my American passage--I may sound corny but I cannot help it, I am an immigrant--before the American flag I stand somber, humble and grateful to those who have given their lives abroad and at home to protect the freedoms we enjoy now. The American flag renews my faith in the ability of common folks, and it inspires us to be eternally vigilant because these freedoms--the Bill of Rights--will continue to remain fragile and vulnerable to prejudice, intolerance and ignorance. To me, the flag is a constant reminder that we face a long journey to keep the promise that, in this nation of immigrants, humble people from the farthest shores can indeed rise to obtain kingships with the kings of this earth.”

--K.W. Lee, English-edition editor of the Korea Times.

“The American flag is the symbol of all that America stands for, one nation under God. It is the wise person who realizes that only God has the authority to give freedom and therein lies our strength. It is one thing to protect our nation from the enemy outside our borders. But sadly enough, we apparently need a constitutional amendment to protect it from within. Many of those who desecrate the flag seem to want to destroy our moral values, which will ultimately destroy our nation from within, with or without a constitutional amendment.”

--Beverly Sheldon, director of research, Traditional Values Coalition, Irvine.

“I’d like to just pitch a one-liner at you: I would much rather see people wrapping themselves in the Constitution to trash the flag, than to see people wrapping themselves in the flag to trash the Constitution.”

--Michelle Shocked, musician and political activist.

“(The flag is) a thing, a bolt of material, and the recommended way of disposal for it is burning. It stands for a great deal--you can’t desecrate what it stands for by burning it, or burying it, or destroying it. I get a thrill when I see Old Glory flapping in the wind. It signifies the freedoms and liberty we enjoy . . . it’s a very proud symbol to me. But people are still entitled to their First Amendment rights. Flag burning wouldn’t be my way of expressing myself, but I don’t have the right to tell others they can’t. Political maneuvering by wrapping yourself in the flag, to me, is despicable.’

--Abigail (Dear Abby) Van Buren, advice columnist. “This is the only country I know where there is a written Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Yet it is now permissible to burn that flag. I find that very strange, objectionable, almost incomprehensible, that it is legally allowable to burn a flag to which every American and every school child pledges allegiance. I don’t think this could ever be an issue in England where there remains so much respect for tradition and the Royal Family and where the flag, the Union Jack, has always been such an enormous symbol. There, you can attack the government without burning the flag. . . .”

--Les Moss, retired Malibu insurance executive. Born in England, naturalized June 22 after 33 years in this country. This his first July 4 as a U.S. citizen.

Times staff writers Paul Dean and Bob Sipchen contributed to this story.