Flag burners safe, for now.

I've gone back and forth on this issue. I think that I'd prefer not to amend the Constitution, but it may be the only way to get the message to the courts that the people are the ultimate authority for the government. I'm in favor of free speech, but I fail to see how that allows every kind of expression for positions that can be fully explored without renouncing loyalty to the nation. The people who burned the flag during the old anti-war demonstrations were fully capable of denouncing the war and the policy of the government without engaging in behavior that insults the loyalty and patriotism of those who have served the country. Does free speech include the right to spit on other people? To throw feces? There are lots of forms of expression that go beyond debate and strong protest and devolve into indecency and debasement of freedom.

Freedom is made possible by sacrifice on the part of citizens, but I see no reason to claim that without the right to express oneself in the most offensive ways one can think of, the First Amendment is violated. The Constitution is supposed to be interpreted reasonably, not in absolute terms that grant some rights more value than others, such as the right to live in domestic tranquility. A man's right to swing his fist stops where another's nose begins. It technically stops sooner than that, since assault, which consists of putting another in fear of battery or any offensive touching, was a common law tort at the time the Constitution was adopted.

I hold that the values stated in the Preamble, a more perfect union, justice, domestic tranquility, the common defense, the general Welfare and the "Blessings of Liberty," are at least as important as the rights listed in the Bill of Rights and that neither group should be given absolute preeminence over the other. The Preamble states the rights citizens have a right to expect from living under the Constitution. The Bill of Rights specifies personal rights that are to be protected, but obviously neither set can be absolute and outweigh the other absolutely. There must be a reasonable balance defined and recognized. Laws against desecrating the flag are a reasonable limitation on the right to criticize the government