The Flag Of Liberty

July Fourth is the nation's most meaningful holiday - a celebration of independence from autocracy and a reminder of our dedication to liberty, then and now.

It is therefore with regret that we observe the Fourth this year knowing that the House of Representatives recently passed a proposed Constitutional amendment which, should the Senate and three-fourths of the states follow suit, would make flag desecration a Federal offense.

Flag-burning was ruled an expression of free speech by the United States Supreme Court in 1989. It is not a particularly palatable form of expression nor one that should be taken lightly in a civil society. But criminalizing it would be a step toward abridging other expressions of opinion that the majority finds abhorrent.

This is not to disparage the ardor Americans feel upon seeing the flag or the anger its desecration arouses. The flag of the United States, however, is only a symbol of our precious liberty. That liberty, which makes our Government stand above most others, would be diminished indeed if the right to mock the flag or to use it in a ritualistic way to make a statement were taken away.