Protect freedom first

Symbols are powerful things, and there is no more powerful symbol in the United States than the American flag.
It is a symbol of a free nation, a concept that we acknowledge every time we recite the "Pledge of Allegiance," which contains the phrase with liberty and justice for all, or sing "The Star-Spangled Banner," the first stanza of which ends with a tribute to the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The association between the flag and freedom predates even the Constitution, yet the Founders did not feel it was necessary to give the flag constitutional protection. They felt so strongly that it was necessary to protect the right of free expression that they made freedom of speech the first of the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights.
So why does Congress -- the House, especially -- continue to push for a constitutional amendment that would allow the punishment of citizens who use the flag to make a political statement? Because it is politically expedient. It is easier and safer to vote yea on a flag-desecration amendment than nay.
Not a burning endorsement
This is not to say that we -- or that brave minority of House members who voted last week against yet another attempt to tinker with the First Amendment -- favor flag-burning. We don't. We find it crude, rude, reprehensible.
But as the Supreme Court of the United States stated in 1989, "government may not prohibit the verbal or nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable, even where our flag is involved."
It is easier for justices, who are appointed for life, to take unpopular positions than representatives, who must seek re-election every two years. The 17th District should be proud that it has one of only two Ohio representatives who had the courage to vote in defense of the First Amendment. Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Niles, said, "Our founding fathers recognized the importance of free speech, and I was elected to protect that right."
Well said, and far more true than the statement of Rep. Steve Chabot, R-1, Cincinnati: "If we allow [the flag's] defacement, we allow our country's gradual decline." Congress would contribute more to the decline of the nation by restricting freedom than by worshipping symbols -- no matter how dear those symbols might be to our hearts.