Flags as Embodiments of Nations - Essay Example

The difference lies in that the flag is a symbolic representation of all that which the nation is; the flag represents the past, present and future and is not associated with particular policies and governments, as may be the nation at any given time. It is within the context of that which the flag stands for that intolerance towards flag burning should be understood. Americans are intolerant of flag burning because it expresses disregard for those who lost their lives battling under the flag, disrespect for the institutions of the nation and, a symbolic attempt to deny national memories.

The 1960s were the heyday of flag burning in the United States and even though many Americans sympathized with the politics which incited the said act, few were tolerant of it. As Boime (1990) notes, countless Americans opposed the Vietnam War and supported Civil Rights but were enraged by the expression of the aforementioned through flag-burning. This is partly because the flag has long been associated with the defense of the nation, in which instance respect for the flag may be partially interpreted as respect for those who gave their lives to the country and to their fellow citizens (Boime, 1990).

In support of this position, Schatz and Lavine (2007: 329) quote Durkheim as saying that “the soldier who dies for his flag dies for his country, but as a matter of fact, in his own consciousness, it is the flag that has the first place.” The implication here is that the burning of the flag constitutes an act of blatant disrespect for those who fought for the nation, from the War of independence to the current War on Terror. The fact is that millions of Americans died under the flag so that millions more can live in security. To burn the flag is to trample on their memories and legacies.

Americans are further intolerant of flag burning because it is expressive of utter disrespect for the nation’s institutions. As early as 1917, an American jurist argued that citizens were obliged to respect their nation’s flag because it was a symbolic representation of all the nation’s institutions. Within the context of the stated, the flag represents the American justice system, American democracy, as in the presidency and the two Houses, and the unity of the federation (Scott, 1917). Read More