Persuasive Essay On Flag Burning

Americans are among the most patriotic citizens of the free world. But with extreme national pride comes occasional radicalism. While this anti-American activity may take on many forms, flag burning infuriates other citizens unlike no other. These acts of pure hatred toward this country are controversial in terms of free speech and first amendment rights, which is why many Americans see fit to punish these offenders even though they are protected by the constitution. The burning of the American flag is not attributed to a certain group of citizens but to those who strongly disagree with our country’s leaders and motives. This act is primarily triggered by either passed legislation or government reaction to national problems. When an offender feels so strongly about a certain public policy issue, they want their voice to be heard loud and clear. The one way they know will grant them mass attention is to publicly burn a flag and post it to social media or have it put on national television. Another reason citizens burn the American flag is to bring attention to a major problem in society. Problems ranging from racism and sexism to economic inequality can bring out the worst in people. They will burn the flag while exclaiming their oppression. All of these public stunts of anti-patriotism bring important attention to their argument from the
In many cases, vigilante justice will take over when the government cannot step in because of the first amendment protections naturally given to these offenders. But how does burning the flag, which doesn’t affect anyone personally, infuriate such a large majority of Americans? Since there is no damage done, and it is considered free speech, it seems as if it should only be noticed by the government. But in America, we have a massive amount of pride in our country, and just like we back up a friend being made fun of, we jump behind our country in times of