2001 Ron Paul 53:1
Mr. PAUL. I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
2001 Ron Paul 53:2
Mr. Speaker, I do not think what we
are doing here today is a contest between
who is the most patriotic. I do
not think that is it at all. Nobody here
in the debate is unpatriotic. But I
think the debate is possibly defining
patriotism.
2001 Ron Paul 53:3
But I am concerned that we are going
to do something here today that Castro
did in Cuba for 40 years. There is a prohibition
against flag burning in Cuba.
And one of the very first things that
Red China did when it took over Hong
Kong was to pass an amendment similar
to this, to make sure there is no
desecration of the Red Chinese flag.
That is some of the company that we
are keeping if we pass this amendment.
2001 Ron Paul 53:4
A gentleman earlier on said that he
fears more of what is happening from
within our country than from without.
I agree with that. But I also come down
on the side that is saying that the
threat of this amendment is a threat to
me and, therefore, we should not be so
anxious to do this. I do not think you
can force patriotism.
2001 Ron Paul 53:5
I also agree with the former speaker
who talked about responsibility. I
agree it is about responsibility. But it
also has something to do with rights.
You cannot reject rights and say it is
all responsibility and therefore we have
to write another law. Responsibility
implies a voluntary approach. You cannot
achieve patriotism by
authoritarianism, and that is what we
are talking about here.
2001 Ron Paul 53:6
I think we all agree with respect to
the flag and respect for our country. It
is all in how we intend to do this. And
also this idea about veterans, because
you are a veteran that you have more
wisdom. I do not think so. I am a veteran,
but I disagree with other veterans.
Keith Kruel, who was a past national
commander of the American Legion
had this to say:
2001 Ron Paul 53:7
“Our Nation was not founded on devotion
to symbolic idols, but on principles,
beliefs, and ideals expressed in
the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
American veterans who have protected
our banner in battle have not done so
to protect a ‘golden calf.’ A patriot
cannot be created by legislation.”
2001 Ron Paul 53:8
He was the national commander of
the American Legion. So I am not less
patriotic because I take this different
position.
2001 Ron Paul 53:9
Another Member earlier mentioned
that this could possibly be a property
rights issue. I think it has something
to do with the first amendment and
freedom of expression. That certainly
is important, but I think property
rights are very important here. If you
have your own flag and what you do
with it, there should be some recognition
of that. But the retort to that is,
oh, no, the flag belongs to the country.
The flag belongs to everybody. Not
really. If you say that, you are a collectivist.
That means you believe everybody
owns everything. Who would
manufacture the flags? Who would buy
the flags? Who would take care of
them? So there is an ownership. If the
Federal Government owns a flag and
you are on Federal property, even,
without this amendment, you do not
have the right to go and burn that flag.
If you are causing civil disturbances,
that is handled another way. But this
whole idea that there could be a collective
ownership of the flag, I think, is
erroneous.
2001 Ron Paul 53:10
The first amendment, we must remember,
is not there to protect noncontroversial
speech. It is to do exactly
the opposite. So, therefore, if you are
looking for controversy protection it is
found in the first amendment. But let
me just look at the words of the
amendment. Congress, more power to
the Congress. Congress will get power,
not the States. That is the opposite of
everything we believe in or at least
profess to believe in on this side of the
aisle.
2001 Ron Paul 53:11
To prohibit. How do you prohibit
something? You would need an army
on every street corner in the country.
You cannot possibly prevent flag burning.
You can punish it but you cannot
prohibit it. That word needs to be
changed eventually if you ever think
you are going to get this amendment
passed.
2001 Ron Paul 53:12
Physical desecration. Physical, what
does it mean? If one sits on it? Do you
arrest them and put them in jail? Desecration
is a word that was used for religious
symbols. In other words, you are
either going to lower the religious
symbols to the state or you are going
to uphold the state symbol to that of
religion. So, therefore, the whole word
of desecration is a word that was taken
from religious symbols, not state symbols.
Maybe it harks back to the time
when the state and the church was one
and the same.
2001 Ron Paul 53:14
Mr. Speaker, loyalty and conviction are admirable
traits, but when misplaced both can
lead to serious problems.
2001 Ron Paul 53:15
More than a decade ago, an obnoxious man
in Dallas decided to perform an ugly act: the
desecration of an American flag in public. His
action violated a little-known state law prohibiting
desecration of the flag. He was tried in
state court and found guilty.
2001 Ron Paul 53:16
As always seems to be the case, though,
the federal government intervened. After winding
through the federal system, the Supreme
Court — in direct contradiction to the Constitution’s
10th Amendment — finally ruled against
the state law.
2001 Ron Paul 53:17
Since then Congress has twice tried to overturn
more than 213 years of history and legal
tradition by making flag desecration a federal
crime. Just as surely as the Court was wrong
in its disregard for the Tenth Amendment by
improperly assigning the restrictions of the
First Amendment to the states, so are attempts
to federally restrict the odious (and
very rare) practice of Americans desecrating
the flag.
2001 Ron Paul 53:18
After all, the First Amendment clearly states
that it is Congress that may “make no laws”
and is prohibited from “abridging” the freedom
of speech and expression. While some may
not like it, under our Constitution state governments
are free to restrict speech, expression,
the press and even religious activities. The
states are restrained, in our federal system, by
their own constitutions and electorate.
2001 Ron Paul 53:19
This system has served us well for more
than two centuries. After all, our founding fathers
correctly recognized that the federal government
should be severely limited, and especially
in matters of expression. They revolted
against a government that prevented them
from voicing their politically unpopular views
regarding taxation, liberty and property rights.
As a result, the founders wanted to ensure
that a future monolithic federal government
would not exist, and that no federal government
of the United States would ever be able
to restrict what government officials might find
obnoxious, unpopular or unpatriotic. After all,
the great patriots of our nation — George
Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry,
and Benjamin Franklin — were all considered
disloyal pests by the British government.
2001 Ron Paul 53:20
Too often in this debate, the issue of patriotism
is misplaced. This is well addressed by
Keith Kruel, an Army veteran and a past national
commander of the American Legion. He
has said that, “Our nation was not founded on
devotion to symbolic idols, but on principles,
beliefs and ideals expressed in the constitution
and its Bill of Rights. American veterans who
have protected our banner in battle have not
done so to protect a ‘golden calf.’ . . . A patriot
cannot be created by legislation.”
2001 Ron Paul 53:21
Our nation would be far better served that if
instead of loyalty to an object — what Mr. Kruel
calls the “golden calf” — we had more Members
of Congress who were loyal to the Constitution
and principles of liberty. If more people
demonstrated a strong conviction to the
Tenth Amendment, rather than creating even
more federal powers, this issue would be far
better handled.
2001 Ron Paul 53:22
For more than two centuries, it was the
states that correctly handled the issue of flag
desecration in a manner consistent with the
principle of federalism. When the federal
courts improperly intervened, many people understandably
sought a solution to a very emotional
issue. But the proposed solution to enlarge
the federal government and tread down
the path of restricting unpopular political expression,
is incorrect, and even frightening.
2001 Ron Paul 53:23
The correct solution is to reassert the 10th
Amendment. The states should be unshackled
from unconstitutional federal restrictions.
2001 Ron Paul 53:24
As a proud Air Force veteran, my stomach
turns when I think of those who defile our flag.
But I grow even more nauseous, though, at
the thought of those who would defile our precious
constitutional traditions and liberties.
2001 Ron Paul 53:25
Loyalty to individual liberty, combined with a
conviction to uphold the Constitution, is the
best of what our flag can represent.
