Slow to Anger - Usually

It usually takes a lot to tick me off. Hypocrisy does it usually, from the left or from the right. Partisan bickering is good for a slow burn, especially when it comes to not dissing America and leaving criticism at the water's edge so to speak. Dick Durban and John Kerry are good for an occasional "fuming" and every once in a while, some of our commenters can get me going. But, my number one button is freedom of speech.

I have a commenter on this site who is pedantic, and can't seem to understand anyone's point of view but those that mimic his own. Do I "flush" that person and ban him from my site? Hell no! This is a site for discussion, argument and poking fun at each other as well as taking a light hearted look at life on occasion. I do draw the line at cussing, generally, unless it's me of course .

But hearing that the United States House of Representatives have passed another attempt to ban the "desicration of the flag", has flat out ticked me off. Quashing free speech in this country is the route to chaos.

Already the FEC is looking to regulate blogs, the Supreme Court has allowed controls on political speech, Liberals shout down Conservatives, Conservatives shout down Liberals and a Special Counsel is threatening to jail reporters to find out who outed Valerie Palme when she wasn't "outed" under the law and no law was broken.

Where does this crap end? America, you better get a grip and put an end to this flag burning nonsense. I served in the Armed Forces and a lot of my fellow citizens are now serving precisely to protect any idiot that wants to burn the flag as a form of political protest. People, it's just a symbol. It STANDS for freedom, it is not freedom itself and one of the freedoms it stands for is the freedom to make an ass out of yourself.

Confronted with a flag burner, my inclination would be to punch them in the nose - and then suffer the consequences of my actions. I cannot stand the political thinking that goes behind someone wanting to burn our flag. It is stupid, it is trodding on the graves of many brave and courageous individuals who died to protect that flag and the right to use it in political expression.

If we turn away from this, if we give in to this little bit of political psychodrama (my ideals are better than your ideals) than we deserve the government we are going to get. It's inevitable and it can be predicted as sure as night following day.

There are many on my side of the political fence that will violently disagree with what I think, that there "ought" to be an amendment to make sacred a symbol. But think this through, if that form of political speech can be controlled and banned, what is next. A strongly liberal attempt to quash conservative speech as unconstitutional? A strongly conservative attempt to quash liberal speech? The loss of a free exchange of ideas?

This is something to be excited about. This is something that is so foreign to our way of life, that I don't want any part of it.

There are other things that the House and Senate need to attend to, the budget, the environment, the war on terror, security for our people, immigration, illegal immigration, social security disaster, and many other items that our congress has a moral responsibility to look after.

We can't keep a invalid woman from being dehydrated to death, we can't keep idiots from burning our flag, but we have time to make one illegal, but not the other. What kind of republic is this anyway?

I'm slow to anger, but I'm hacked off now! I love our flag and all that it stands for, but it doesn't stand for stupid bills like the one passed by the House. Perhaps the Senate will once again drop kick the whole idea. Too bad it has to take the time to do it.

Update: Fargus (from the left) agrees...