Laws protecting the United States flag do not cut away at the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment... Congress made this position clear upon passage of the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which prohibited desecration of the flag.
quote by Larry Craig
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Unfortunately a Constitutional amendment that would have empowered Congress to make desecration of the United States flag illegal failed to pass by one vote.
quote by Kenny Marchant
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Worrying that banning flag desecration would inhibit free speech reveals a misunderstanding of the flag's fundamental nature.
quote by Adrian Cronauer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag.
quote by Zell Miller
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Freedom's Battle-Song
RED, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
Stripes as red as blood well shed by many a hero gone.
Now 'tis ours to storm the towers of tyranny and wrong,
Freedom's sons who front the guns with Freedom's battle-song.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth,
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
Red, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
White as peace for whose release our fighting gear we don;
Peace enchained, crushed, profaned, shall yet in beauty stand,
Yet shall bless with fruitfulness her desolated land.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
Red, white, blue, the flag that leads us on,
Blue as skies whose starry eyes shall see our victory won.
Freedom's sons and champions, to her our hearts are true,
We who fight for Human Right, and the Red,
White, Blue.
Fly the flag from dome and steeple,
Fly, the flag from home and school,
Flag of Freedom's birth,
While we battle that the rule
Of the people
By the people
For the people
Shall prevail o'er all the earth.
poem by Katharine Lee Bates
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Harry Wilmans
I was just turned twenty-one,
And Henry Phipps, the Sunday-school superintendent,
Made a speech in Bindle’s Opera House.
“The honor of the flag must be upheld,” he said,
“Whether it be assailed by a barbarous tribe of Tagalogs
Or the greatest power in Europe.”
And we cheered and cheered the speech and the flag he waved
As he spoke.
And I went to the war in spite of my father,
And followed the flag till I saw it raised
By our camp in a rice field near Manila,
And all of us cheered and cheered it.
But there were flies and poisonous things;
And there was the deadly water,
And the cruel heat,
And the sickening, putrid food;
And the smell of the trench just back of the tents
Where the soldiers went to empty themselves;
And there were the whores who followed us, full of syphilis;
And beastly acts between ourselves or alone,
With bullying, hatred, degradation among us,
And days of loathing and nights of fear
To the hour of the charge through the steaming swamp,
Following the flag,
Till I fell with a scream, shot through the guts.
Now there’s a flag over me in Spoon River!
A flag! A flag!
poem by Edgar Lee Masters from Spoon River Anthology
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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American Soldier
-Author Unknown-
It's the Soldier, not the reporter
who has given us the freedom of the press.
It's the Soldier, not the poet,
who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the Soldier, not the politicians
that ensures our right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
It's the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag.
**************************************** ********************
This poem was emailed to me by a friend and it did not have a title or an author. i hope i have provided the proper respect in providing an appropriate title for this honorabe author who remains anonymous.
poem by Thisoul Ofmine
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Especially today as we fight the war on terror - against an enemy that represents hatred, extremism and stands behind no flag - we need to remember the sacrifices that have gone into protecting our flag.
quote by Bill Shuster
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Two Flags
Some people are born under two flags.
Their parents are of two countries
and this is the situation of me.
I live under one flag,
but wish I lived under the other.
For a while, I lived under the other flag
and felt the world belong to me.
Now I live under the one flag
and everything seems to be taken from me.
Those who inspire my life
live under the other flag.
While the ones whose flag I live under
fail to recognise the potential within me.
It is a dilemma I face everyday,
whether to go or to stay.
However I am not the only one,
there must be many more just like me
who live under two flags
and wish they lived under the one farthest away.
2 May 2009
poem by David Harris
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My Flag My Country
Wind blows, my flag dances, in the wind
The anthem is sang, souls in unison bond
My flag is tough in the wind, none would
Blow my flag a way, my country I'm proud
Defender is me, the glory of spilled blood
During emancipation from slavery,
The ills washed, and made white as cotton
The struggles, the quest for victory
My flag flies, in wholeness,
The sweet, reminiscences of my country's history.
poem by Charles Jagongo Ogola
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Flag Song
Dear flag! Old flag! O, the blue and white,
Floating in the years long gone,
How our pulses beat,
Mocking at defeat,
Following the standard on.
Proud flag, New flag, purple and the gold
Shouting past the legions go,
Carried onward fleet
Knowing no retreat,
Flouting at the winds that blow.
Old flag, New flag, colours of the sky
Gleaming as the seasons roll,
Morning's blue attire,
Sunset's purple fire,
Golden braid on eve's dark stole.
Clear voice, young voice, ringing through the school,
Fluting in the sweet time flown,
Youth so debonair,
May not linger there,
Youngsters are to grey men grown.
Old school, kind school, fostering the weak,
Never brighter days have shone,
Boys from evil stayed,
Gallant men are made,
Following the Standard on.
poem by Frank Samuel Williamson
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Rally Around Our Flag
Rally Around Our Flag
(A sonnet from SevenSixFourSeven)
Somewhere around the world when peace hangs by a thread
America’s young men and women gallantly respond
To restore that which everyone will need,
Freedom and harmony to deserving humankind.
To the Flag, they rallied to answer a call freely
Personal needs aside to strengthen what is wanting
That a real peril is threatening man’s liberty
So sacrifices are made where change is demanding.
These young men and women who made no concessions
Are asking for no more than your eyes and hearts
To let them know that you, too, are in conciliation
For their sacrifices made bolstering freedom’s straits.
Many from SevenSixFourSeven rose and responded
To a bugle’s call around the Flag where they proudly stood.
by
Tito
“Those that deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves”
Lincoln
(From Famous Quotes)
poem by Tito Mataban
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Delicate Cluster
DELICATE cluster! flag of teeming life!
Covering all my lands! all my sea-shores lining!
Flag of death! (how I watch'd you through the smoke of battle
pressing!
How I heard you flap and rustle, cloth defiant!)
Flag cerulean! sunny flag! with the orbs of night dappled!
Ah my silvery beauty! ah my woolly white and crimson!
Ah to sing the song of you, my matron mighty!
My sacred one, my mother.
poem by Walt Whitman
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Surrender
White flag white flag
Jesus be lord of my life
Come and rule that is thine
Fix the shambles And strife
This man is your vassel
Tell me what u want done
Whatever it is, help me i pray
Surrender to one
White flag white flag
Waving in hollow defeat
The enemy has finally won
Brave man hung by the feet
Surrender after surrender
God what have we done! ?
help us please remember
Surrender to one
poem by Joses Tirtabudi
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Our Own Flag
They mustered us up with a royal din,
In wearisome weeks of drought.
Ere ever half of the crops were in,
Or the half of the sheds cut out.
'Twas down with the saddle and spurs and whip
The swagman dropped his swag.
And we hurried us off to the outbound ship
To fight for the English flag.
The English flag, it is ours in sooth
We stand by it wrong or right.
But deep in our hearts is the honest truth
We fought for the sake of a fight.
And the English flag may flutter and wave
Where the World-wide Oceans toss,
But the flag the Australian dies to save
Is the flag of the Southern Cross.
If ever they want us to stand the brunt
Of a hard-faught, grim campaign,
We will carry our own flag up to the front
When we go to the wars again.
poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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We do not consecrate the flag by punishing its desecration, for in doing so, we dilute the freedom this cherished emblem represents.
quote by William J. Brennan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Where cries begin when a broken tear smiles
I rest under a shady tree
Autumnal faded leaves tremble
with the peevish wind.
It looks like a Beethoven's symphony.
And I gaze at a faraway roof top flag post.
Torn flag waves in its sad rhythm
But the flag post stands straight
Like a young recruit.
Oh! If I am a newly painted flag post in the battlefield of life
Then I could have teach the flag how to show its true colors.
* To my unseen friend the silent song smith Nick Percowycz.
No palpitation heard since a long time from your territory. [Anchorville/Michigan] Are you passing well my dear?
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
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Our Flag
see
my flag is colourful
your flag is very nice
but this kid love the red....
you like the other
we can raice our flag
we can be proud
we can raice in high
I wish to hang it up
raice it up
fly with my loving stars.....
poem by Thampi KEE
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In Memory of Those who Fought and Died-Part I
The day the tears dried on your loved ones' faces...
The day those men in uniform carried your casket
to your last resting place...
The day the solemn sound of the bugle
was heard once and for all - in your name...
by your friends, comrades-in-arms, relatives
and mourners you did not even know...
The day that you did not hear the 21-gun salute
were fired not towards the enemy but
in your honor in deafening silence...
The day when they folded the flag neatly on
your funeral service then handed this
'gift of life' to your grieving mom and dad,
your spouse, your son, your daughter,
your brother or sister...
Was the day - the beginning...
you were forever remembered!
You are not forgotten and never will,
my buddy...my comrade.
As long as the stars and stripes,
fly proudly in every 50 states
...you will be remembered because
you are part of that flag.
Yes, you are even part of those
who abuse and misuse this so-called
precious freedom that you have died for.
They, too, are indebted to you.
The freedom we have now -
we may not cherished were it not
for your bravery, patriotism and the lives
you sacrificed to fight it with.
Freedom to argue; freedom to protest
and demonstrate; freedom to vote and
not to vote, freedom to elect our leaders
and damn them too; freedom to burn the flag -
Let them be!
That is what real freedom is all about.
America will always be a great nation,
today, tomorrow and forever...
because of you!
poem by Don Allan Dinio
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Live Free
Waving your flag a blind patriot
can no longer see cause your eyes are shut
love it or leave it is your sentiment
instead of working for improvement
but I want to live free
and won't settle for this mediocrity
waving your flag, we're number one
society's got you under their thumb
too ignorant too see through their subtle attack
to make us content but we must fight back
you don't love your country
you just love yourself
because you sit complacent
like everyone else
if your fights for freedom
then do what's right
put down that flag, protest and come join the fight
song performed by by Youth Of Today
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Dear Old Flag
Oh! we love that dear old flag,
That our forefathers gave
Over one hundred years ago, boys,
They once stood under that dear flag,
But now they are in their graves,
Sleeping their everlasting sleep, boys.
CHORUS:
The Union forever,
Hurrah, boys, hurrah;
Down with the traitors,
Up with the stars;
For we love that dear old flag
That our fathers fought to save
When they were fighting for our freedom.
We will rally around its standard
Every Fourth day of July,
For we dearly love our nation;
We love to see the stars and stripes
A waving up on high
Over our Union celebration.
Three cheers for the Union
And the red, white and blue,
And our forefathers that formed the constitution;
May the flag forever wave
O'er our native land so true,
May God protect our flag and nation.
poem by Julia A Moore
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