Quotes · Skopia

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Topic·American flag✕clear

American flag2 quotes

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there- O! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave! — Francis Scott Key · 1814 And, precisely because it is our flag that is involved, one's response to the flag-burner may exploit the uniquely persuasive power of the flag itself. We can imagine no more appropriate response to burning a flag than waving one's own, no better way to counter a flag burner's message than by saluting the flag that burns, no surer means of preserving the dignity even of the flag that burned than by—as one witness here did—according its remains a respectful burial. We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents. — William J. Brennan, Jr. · 1989

Freedom of speech and expression1 quote

And, precisely because it is our flag that is involved, one's response to the flag-burner may exploit the uniquely persuasive power of the flag itself. We can imagine no more appropriate response to burning a flag than waving one's own, no better way to counter a flag burner's message than by saluting the flag that burns, no surer means of preserving the dignity even of the flag that burned than by—as one witness here did—according its remains a respectful burial. We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so we dilute the freedom that this cherished emblem represents. — William J. Brennan, Jr. · 1989