http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003081871_pitts25.htmlSunday, June 25, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist
Feinstein's flag fetish: illogic for all
Thank you, Dianne Feinstein. :crazy:
Composition teachers all over the country are indebted to the Democratic senator from California
for a commentary published Tuesday in USA Today. Instead of tearing their hair out trying to
instruct students in the finer points of logic, rhetoric and critical thinking,
teachers will henceforth be able to simply pull out Feinstein's piece and say, "Don't do this."
They will never find a better illustration of a bad argument badly made.
Feinstein is co-sponsor of something called the Flag Protection Amendment, the latest
congressional effort to amend the Constitution to protect the U.S. flag from "desecration" —
an interesting word, given its connotations of religious devotion.
Her commentary in support of the amendment certainly hits all the patriotic sweet spots,
invoking the image of Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima, reminding us that the flag is a symbol
of "our democracy, our shared values, our commitment to justice,
and our eternal memory of those who have sacrificed to defend these principles."
But there's more. Feinstein notes that Congress has power to protect the Lincoln Memorial from defilement,
so surely it should have similar power to protect the flag, "our monument in cloth."
She denies the amendment would infringe free speech, because, "There is no idea or thought
expressed by the burning of the American flag that cannot be expressed equally well in another manner."
As arguments go, this one has it all — pathos, tears, drama.
Everything except actual, you know, logic....
...more at link...snip-->
"Feinstein, by the way, is reacting to a crisis that does not exist. You know how many
flag "desecrations" there have been this year? Twenty-five, you think? A dozen?
There have been three. This is according to the Citizens Flag Alliance, a group that "supports"
the proposed amendment. "Three."
More people were struck by lightning. Heck, I bet more people spontaneously combusted.
So essentially what we have here is an effort to amend the Constitution and abridge
the First Amendment in order to stop people from doing what people aren't doing.
Am I the only one who finds this more than faintly ridiculous?" <--snip
:rofl:
==========================
What the hell is Feinstein doing? Is this all she has to worry about? :shrug:
More about
"A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
authorizing Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
Bill # S.J.RES.12http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/issues/bills/?billnum=S.J.RES.12&congress=109&size=full
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
