OK, It Doesn’t Have That Much To Do With Entertainment Law, Buuuut It Has To Do With The First Amendment Which Has To Do With Entertainment Law… :-D

So, I believe, like many people, that the First Amendment is a foundation of this country, it affects everything. Which leads me to another point, US. Ever since I got here all I’ve heard is how great and amazing the legal profession is; we are the seekers of justice, the enlightened ones defending rights at all costs. Yeah, um, ok. Again, not to harp on another class or anything, but I need as much material for this Blog thing as I can get. So I might as well get to it - I think burning the flag is sacred, sacred as in, one of the most sacred rights we have to free expression. If I want to burn the flag, then I should be able to burn the flag. To me, that is just one of the most symbolic and expressive things someone can do in regards to their opinion of this country.
In my First Amendment class we were discussing the Texas v. Johnson case. For those who don’t know, this is the case where the defendant (Johnson), burned a flag outside the Republican National Convention in Texas in 1984, and of course he was arrested. The Supreme Court decided that any laws prohibiting flag burning were unconstitutional pursuant to the First Amendment.
The class then turned to discussion about the act of flag burning. As stated previously, I believe that is one of the most powerful statements an individual can make. One of my fellow students made a good point, there is no stipulation of the flag’s importance, if anything, wanting to burn it just goes to show how important of a symbol it is for this country. Of course, there were a few who did not share in this mentality. It was stated that the flag was a sacred symbol, that people died for it, that burning the flag was a proverbial slap-in-the-face to those who have fought for it. I guess I can somewhat understand that mentality, after all, I’m sure that’s the same mentality my grandparents had and still obtain. But again, MY GRANDPARENTS. This is a different time! We’re supposed to be the lawyers in training, right, the ones who’s job it is to defend the constitutional rights of all. Yes, you can say that people have died for the flag. Personally, I believe those people have died for the right to HAVE that flag, the freedom to do whatever they want with that flag. No, I have never gone to war, so I cannot speak first hand, but that is what I always thought of when I heard the term, “dying/fighting for the flag”. And honestly, isn’t the First Amendment what makes our country different than most? So doesn’t it stand to reason that those who went to war died/fought for the First Amendment too? The way I see it (now to quote another class), if the First Amendment gives us the right to say “fuck”, then it should give us the right to say “fuck the government”… in any way, shape or form we choose to.