Folks, this is one of those "I hate what you say but I will die for your right to say it."
Bullshit. You don't like the President, you don't like the current administration, burn or stomp on an effigy of him/her. This whole, "Soldiers go to war so that people can do that" is bullshit. I know of NO soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine that goes to war to allow some piece of shit to desecrate the American flag. That symbolizes this country. NOT a Damn administration.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Free speech IS a foundation of our country and I suppose stomping on the flag is a form of speech. But I also feel like they might as well be dancing on the graves of all those who died defending everything that flag stands for. It's incredibly hypocritical to say, as these types of people often do, "well, isn't that what they're fighting for" and then make a "statement" with your "art" decrying that country and protesting against the very war "they" (the riff raff, the uneducated, the ridiculously patriotic) are fighting in. You can't have it both ways. It's not that they can't do it...legally they can, but they shouldn't. The lack of reverence for what that "symbol" represents, the unique history, the blood shed, the veteran standing beside them who faced horrors they'll never know and is simply asking them to LISTEN (HE isn't a symbol)...is just very, very sad. Universities AREN'T democracies. Like all schools they can make rules that reflect the values of that university, ones they deem important to be good stewards of our republic. Teaching values like citizenship and respect should be part of a student's education. By all means, teach free speech, but also teach the responsibilty that goes with such a gift. There are people in other countries who will be born, live, and die without ever knowing what true freedom is. Others risk everything to come here so they can share in it. Men and women have and will continue to fight and die to preserve it. Is it too much to ask that universities (especially those that receive public funding) see to it that their students understand the price others pay for that freedom? Evidently it is.
Cindie
