It
was
taken in
Boston
on the
last day
of the
2004
Democratic
convention
and
shows a
group of
protestors
watching
a masked
woman
burning
an
effigy
of John
Kerry
and
George
Bush
along
with an
American
flag.
Now, the
point of
this
article
is to
say I
may not
agree
with
burning
effigies
of
politicians,
regardless
of what
party,
but if
that
floats
your
boat,
then so
be it.
You
don’t
like
George
Bush,
John
Kerry or
Donald
Duck for
one
reason
or
another,
then
have at
it.
Shoot
your
best
shot.
Stand on
your
soapbox,
mail
flyers,
start a
talk
radio or
television
show;
starve
yourself
to death
for all
I care.
Burning
the flag
of this
country
is
another
thing
entirely,
in my
opinion.
What
this
flag
symbolizes
to me is
the
freedom
that
allows
people
to stand
in our
streets
and
protest
such as
this
group in
this
photograph.
The
right to
do such
activities
was not
cheap
and was
bought
with the
lives
and
sacrifices
of
countless
millions
over the
past
couple
of
hundred
years.
I’d be
willing
to bet
there
isn’t
one of
us in
this
country
who
doesn’t
have
someone
in our
family
history
who
either
served
this
country
during
it’s
times of
need or
helped
in some
way or
another
to make
our
country
free.
I’m
looking
at the
faces of
the
crowd
surrounding
this
woman as
she
commits
this
despicable
act.
They’re
smiling
or
laughing
as if
this is
an event
and not
really
any big
deal.
Just
another
media
opportunity,
take
some
pictures
and move
on.
But it
is a big
deal.
Try
doing
what
this
woman is
doing in
say,
Nazi
Germany
or
Stalin’s
Russia.
Try this
today in
downtown
Beijing
and see
what
would
happen
to you.
In a
world
where we
still
have
countries
which
don’t
allow
women to
vote or
drive,
or where
children
of nine
and ten
years
old work
twelve
to
fourteen
hours
each
day,
shouldn’t
our flag
be
precious
to us?
I think
so.
To
protest
anything
in this
country
is
certainly
your
right,
not your
God
given
right,
but your
right
that was
given by
those
who I
mentioned
earlier.
To
ignore
their
sacrifices
and
commitments
to our
freedom
is to
spit
upon
their
graves.
Our
country
certainly
isn’t
perfect.
It has
faults,
but it’s
comprised
of human
beings
and
we’re
certainly
far from
being
perfect,
aren’t
we? Our
country
was
founded
on the
premise
of
freedom
and that
is one
goal it
strives
to
maintain,
in spite
of
everything
and
everyone
having
differences
of
opinion.
What
nation
can you
think of
that
survived
a civil
war and
is still
one
nation
with the
same
form of
government?
What
nation
can you
think of
that
went to
two
world
wars as
a united
nation
in less
than
eighty
years
after
their
own
civil
war?
What
other
country
has
shown
that
level of
unity?
Our
second
president,
John
Adams,
was said
to be
terrified
at the
thought
of
Thomas
Jefferson
becoming
the
president.
Why?
Because
in
Europe,
the
incoming
administrations
nearly
always
found
some way
or
method
to do
away
with
(execute
or
imprison)
their
predecessors.
America
had
never
had the
government
change
from one
party to
another,
so his
fears
could
have
very
well
been
founded.
I’m glad
to say,
nothing
happened
and
freedom
has
prevailed
over
these
years.
To be
sure,
we’ve
made
mistakes
and
we’ll
continue
to make
mistakes
along
the way.
That
doesn’t
mean
we’re a
nation
of bad
people.
Just a
nation
of
people,
from
different
backgrounds,
races,
levels
of
education
and
economic
strata.
What
allows
us to
live
here and
keep on
trying
is the
flag. It
is the
symbol
of our
country
and
should
not be
desecrated
or taken
lightly.
It is to
be
revered
as the
flag of
all of
our
people
and for
all of
our
people.
If we
didn’t
have it
and what
it
stands
for then
we
wouldn’t
allow
our
citizens
to
demonstrate
much
less
protest
their
own
government.
I
suppose
that’s
all I
have to
say,
except
for one
more
thing. I
find it
curious
that the
woman
burning
the flag
is
wearing
a mask.
If she
is so
positive
about
what she
is doing
and
thinks
it is
right
and
proper,
then why
the
mask?
If you
can’t
stand up
and show
your
face for
what you
believe
or don’t
believe,
than you
must not
believe
in your
cause
very
well.
