"If you expect a nation
to be ignorant and free,
you expect what never
was and can never be"

Thomas Jefferson






To Those Who Want To Burn the Flag
"Just Ask Permission"


Does the first Amendment gives us the right to desecrate the American flag?
Or is the flag a sacred symbol of our nation, deserving protection by law?
Tough call?


"The Solution"
For those who want to light Old Glory on fire, stomp all over it, or
spit on it to make some sort of "statement", I say let them do it.
BUT UNDER ONE CONDITION:
They MUST get permission from three sponsors.


First, you need permission of a war veteran, perhaps a Marine who
fought at Iwo Jima for starters ....

The American flag was raised over Mount Surabachi upon the bodies of
thousands of dead buddies. Each night spent on Iwo meant half of
everyone you knew would be dead tomorrow, a coin flip away from a
bloody end upon a patch of sand your mother couldn't find on a map.

Or maybe ask a Vietnam vet who spent years tortured in a small, filthy
cell unfit for a dog. Or a Korean War soldier who helped rescue half a
nation from Communism, or a Desert Storm warrior who repulsed a bloody
dictator from raping and pillaging an innocent country.

That flag represented your mother and father, your sister and brother,
your friends, neighbors, and everyone at home.

I wonder what they would say if someone asked them permission to burn
the American flag?

Next, you need a signature from an immigrant. Their brothers and sisters
may still languish in their native land, often under tyranny, poverty
and misery.
Or maybe they died on the way here, never to touch our shores. Some
have seen friends and family get tortured and murdered by their own
government for daring to do things we take for granted every day.

For those who risked everything simply for the chance to become an
American ... what kind of feelings do they have for the flag when they
Pledge Allegiance the first time?
Go to a naturalization ceremony and see for yourself, the tears of
pride, the thanks, the love and respect of this nation, as they finally
embrace the American flag as their own.
Ask one of them if it would be OK to tear up the flag.

Last, you should get the signature of a mother, not just any mother ....
You need a mother of someone who gave their life for America. It doesn't
even have to be from a war. It could be a cop, or a fireman, maybe a
Secret Service or NSA Agent.
Then again, it could be a common foot soldier as well.
When that son or daughter is laid to rest, their family is given one
gift by the American people, an American flag.
Go on, I dare you, ask that mother to spit on her flag or burn it.

I wonder what the founding fathers thought of the American flag as they
drafted the Declaration of Independence? They knew this act would drag
young America into war with England, the greatest power on earth. They
also knew failure meant more than just a disappointment. I meant a noose
snugly stretched around their necks. But they needed a symbol, something
to inspire the new nation. Something to represent the seriousness, the
purpose and conviction that we held our new idea of individual freedom.
Something worth living for. Something worth dying for.

I wonder how they'd feel if someone asked them permission to toss their
flag in a mud puddle?

Away from family, away from the precious shores of home, in the face of
overwhelming odds and often in the face of death, the American flag
inspires those who believe in the American dream, the American promise,
the American vision ...

Americans who don't appreciate the flag don't appreciate this nation.
And those who appreciate this nation appreciate the American flag.
Those who fought, fought for that flag.
Those who died, died for that flag.
And those who love America, love that flag, and defend it.

So if you want to desecrate the American flag, before you spit on it or
before you burn it ... I have a simple request:

Just Ask Permission
NOT from the Constitution
NOT from some obscure law
NOT from the politicians or the pundits

Instead, ask those who defended our nation so that we may be free today.
Ask those who struggled to reach our shores so that they may join us in
the American dream. And ask those who clutch the flag in place of their
sacrificed sons and daughters, husbands and wives
who defended this Great Country so that others may be free.

Go on, I dare you, ask the above to spit on their flag or burn it.

For we cannot ask permission from those who died wishing
they could, just once, or once again, see, touch or kiss the flag.
They gave their lives defending it, the flag that stands for our Great Nation
The United States of America ...

"The Greatest Nation On Earth"



If You Do Not Like MY Solution About
Asking Permission
To Burn My American Flag



Al Varelas - USMC
Highly Decorated Vietnam Veteran
26th Marine Combat Regiment
Khe Sanh Combat Base





While surfing, I came across your site, and I would
be very honored, if you would accept this award.
It is my small way of saying how much I appreciate
all you have done for me and others ....

Accepted With Pride
Thank You Sandy




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Decorated Vietnam Veteran
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