Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 28, 1990                   TAG: 9006290687
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-12   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FLAG VOTE

So what did our U.S. senators see fit to accomplish this week? They voted on a constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration.

Sen. John Warner of Virginia was among the majority who debased themselves by voting in favor of the proposal. Never mind that the amendment last week fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the House of Representatives - so this week's Senate tally, which also fell short, was moot.

Never mind that occasional flag-burning constitutes no threat to the nation - unless it provokes precisely the sort of tampering with the Bill of Rights that this proposal represented.

The senators' point Tuesday was not to pass the amendment but to go on record, to register votes that can be recalled forevermore in political campaigns and television ads.

As in the earlier House vote, a party slant was evident. Thirty-eight Senate Republicans voted in favor and seven voted against the amendment; 20 Democrats voted yes, while 35 voted no.

And so the National Republican Congressional Committee has begun faxing news releases into the districts and home states of Democrats who voted against the bill, accusing them of "flag wavering." The purpose, of course, is to question their values and their patriotism - as if opponents of the amendment care any less about their country or their flag.

It's the other side's values and patriotism that should be questioned. According to what values, and by what sort of patriotism, do congressmen fool with freedom of expression - one of America's foundations and glories - in response to no real danger but in hopes of personal, political and partisan gain?

Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia, who had earlier supported the proposal, changed his mind and to his credit voted no. Said Robb: "I have concluded that our flag can better be protected by not tinkering with the First Amendment." The obvious conclusion, nonetheless it was for some congressmen fraught with fear.

Now the public must relieve their fears and disarm the demagogues. It's up to voters to see through the 30-second ads and sound-bites that are sure to follow, up to them to sort out the heroes from the not-so-heroic, the courageous from the cowards, the true patriots from those of the sunshine variety.

Does Robb love his nation or its flag less than Warner? Of course not. President Bush's stature in the history books should be diminished by his leadership of this sordid campaign. In Congress, a no vote on the amendment ought to stand as an emblem of honor. A yes vote is a badge of shame.