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

DATE: TUESDAY, October 25, 1994                   TAG: 9410250059
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RONALD H. ZOLL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

AMENDMENT

THE VAST majority of Americans are enraged when they see the flag of the United States being dragged through the gutter, spat upon and burned by those who obviously hate our country. And it still angers most Americans that this violent, wanton physical act of destructiveness that violates all community sensitivities was labeled ``free speech'' by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. flag is the one symbol that unites us and reminds us of all of the ideals our nation was built on, and which we continue to strive to preserve. Our flag has never belonged to a single political party, nor has it ever been the property of one particular cause. In the heat of either a foreign or domestic crisis, the flag keeps us united as one people. It is a unique symbol of our commonality of purpose. We have no other comparable symbol.

Where then was the Supreme Court's sense of history and of the flag's special status when it ruled that it's OK to spit on the flag, to trample on it and to burn it in anger?

Free speech? Free speech has never been a legitimate defense for such physical acts as burning a draft card, defacing U.S. currency, defacing a mailbox, public nudity, blocking access to public or private property, or even violating neighborhood architectural codes. And it should not be a legitimate defense against the heinous act of desecrating the flag of the United States of America!

Freedom of speech is not absolute. There are appropriate laws that make certain speech punishable if they libel or slander someone. It is a felony to make a verbal threat against the president, or even to joke about a bomb on an airliner. The Federal Communications Commission restricts certain types of language on the public airways.

The only way to protect our nation's most precious symbol is by amending the Constitution of the United States, because it is the only law the Supreme Court must obey.

Over the past five years, 44 states have passed memorializing resolutions asking Congress to send a flag-protection amendment to the states for ratification. Those legislatures represent almost 94 percent of the American population. The Virginia legislature passed the memorializing resolution in 1992.

This has to be more than just a veterans' issue, or a union issue, or a small-business issue, or a woman's issue, or a liberal issue, or a conservative issue, or a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. Everyone should join this crusade to secure a flag-protection amendment to the Constitution.

Ronald H. Zoll of Troutville is commander of the 9th District Department of Virginia of the American Legion.

by CNB