Acceptance In The Lottery, Texas V. Johnson

Lemon V. Kurtzman is a very important court case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court. Being that it isn’t a huge case in regards to the Supreme Court it is often overlooked. But the outcome of the case changed how Americans regarding certain things regarding the constitution constitutional. The when,why,what, who,and where will show the detail of this court case and its importance.

The first case of the day that was heard by the Supreme Court on December 13th was Texas v. Johnson. Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, led a protest at the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas to protest Ronald Reagan’s reelection. During this protest, Mr. Johnson soaked an American flag in kerosene and proceed to burn it. Mr. Johnson was then arrested and charged for violating the Texas state law that prevented the desecration of a venerated object. The proceedings began with statements from the petitioners who claimed that precedent cases such as US v. O’Brien (1968), which deemed that the burning of draft cards was an invalid form of free speech, and Boos v. Barry (1988), which reinforced

Why should someone's actions change your view on things? If someone decides to do something sporadic, and it can’t conclude with a criminal punishment, why argue on it? The following texts that will be brought up are “What of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?” by Etgar Keret, “Texas V. Johnson” by William J. Brennan and “American Flag Stands for Tolerance” by Ronald J. Allen. The way that others act should not affect our opinions and thoughts upon our beliefs and we should not discriminate against others for having their beliefs.

New York case, the Supreme Court decided that New York and any other state were not justified to charge someone for speaking negatively about the flag. In addition, in a precedent case in 1969, the Supreme Court of Brandenburg v. Ohio ruled that even though Brandenburg was a member of the Klu Klux Klan, he was able to present a speech at a rally. Granted, the first amendments forbids speech it is primarily spoken to encourage or commence any type of crime. In like manner, in Texas v. Johnson, though burning the flag was impressed as disrespectful to some people, no laws or amendments were corrupted. In 1943, a precedent court case Brown v. Board of Education allowed students to not salute the flag. Many people believe that if the argument is that desecration of the flag is ruining a national symbol, not saluting the flag is of the same disrespect. Precedent court cases have all stayed on the same line of judgement to say that it is constitutional for desecration of the flag to fall under symbolic

In the year 2006, the Stolen Valor Act made it illegal to make medals of Honor. The case brought forth to us describes issues brought about by this act. In United States v. Fields, Abel Fields attended a meeting where he proclaimed that he had military experience, and that he earned a Purple Heart. He had made false statements, and in turn was convicted, and had to pay a $1,000 fine. Fields felt that his First Amendment rights had been violated. He appealed his case to the court of appeals. He argued that it was okay to falsify his claims, because he they were about him. He didn’t harm anyone in lying about himself. The court of appeals overturned his conviction because they thought the Stole Valor Act was unnecessary.

Symbols mean a lot, and when one represents a whole country a lot of controversy can surround that symbol; In this case, the flag of the United States is an important symbol that stands for many things. Some people put the flag of the United States on a pedestal, they look up to the flag, and value it, so when someone desecrates the flag they get infuriated. On the other hand, some people see the flag as a symbol of our freedom that supports the First Amendment which allows us to disrespect the flag if we want to. For many years controversy has surrounded flag desecration and one of the most famous cases surrounding the topic would be Texas v. Johnson (1989): This case focused on Gregory Lee Johnson and if his act of flag burning was “symbolic speech” protected by the First Amendment--They

A tradition or idea that is followed and not questioned by some could potentially be dangerous or illogical. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, the dangers of blindly following a tradition is portrayed. In “The Lottery,” a village gathers around every year on June 27th to hold a lottery. Mr. Summers leads the tradition every year. This lottery is very unusual; the winner will become the loser. The Hutchinson family is chosen at this year’s lottery. The mother, Tessie says it is unfair and she is ultimately the chosen winner of the lottery. The winner of this lottery is stoned to death by their neighbors. Whether a tradition is immoral or not, some follow traditions for no apparent reason other just following what they were taught.

Gregory Lee Johnson was convicted of burning the flag in violation of the Texas Law. After a march, he burned the flag in protest during the 1984 Republican National Convention. No one was hurt during this demonstration. Cornell University stated in an article, “Johnson was convicted of desertion of a venerated object in violation of Texas statute.” Johnson's actions were protected by the First Amendment so he was not sent to prison as stated in the United States Supreme Court case Texas v Johnson. His actions against the flag should have been more severe. Since Johnson’s actions were not threatening the branches of peace, there was no threat in the moment. “... and since the

According to bannedbooksweek.com over 300 books are banned each year in the United States. Why do some people think they have the right to take away this from others and themselves. No one should the right to take away books or anything form anyone without having the right to do so.

In the Opinion Announcement of Morse v. Frederick, Justice Roberts said, "...students do not shed their First Amendments rights at the schoolhouse gate... The rights of students at {a} school are not the same as the rights of adults in the community at large" (Morse). The point he is getting across is that even though students still have their first amendment right at school it is more filtered as they are required to follow school policy (Morse). In the case of Morse v Frederick, his first amendment was not broken as he was promoting illegal drug use at a school event which is explicitly prohibited at school no matter if at school grounds or not (Morse). From this case, it is further understood that students still have some right to be free

Texas v. Johnson (1989) was a Supreme court case deciding whether or not flag burning is supported by “symbolic speech” protected by the first amendment. Gregory Lee Johnson is caught burning the American flag in Dallas, Texas in 1989 to protest Ronald Reagan`s policies. When Johnson had burned the flag during the protest the state of Texas arrested him for desecrating a venerated object. Although Johnson did not hurt or threaten to hurt anyone witnesses and spectators claimed to be seriously offended by seeing Johnson burn the flag. Most of the people in the courtroom were sided with Gregory Johnson supporting the fact that flag burning is considered as symbolic speech which is protected by the first amendment. The case was wrapped up

Human nature can be characterized as being positive, capable of altruism and goodness which sets humankind apart from savage animals; however, human nature possesses a dark side, namely cruelty, and it is capable of barbarism like any beast. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, cruelty is part of human nature, and the participants of the lottery demonstrate human cruelty through violence towards one another; markedly, by exhibiting desensitization to violence and the acceptance of violence resulting in internal dysfunction which is perpetuated yearly.

Texas Vs. Johnson and American Flag Stands For Tolerance are two stories that differentiate because of their different context which creates different tones.

The struggle for truth has arguably inspired and produced the greatest achievements in human history. Truth is only attainable through change, and to change is to be open to truth. History's overwhelming presence of biases and dogmatism has contributed to stifled progress and deprived men from pursuing the truth. To oppose a viewpoint contrary to one that is strongly believed in, is characteristic of humans; however, few are open to change, even when confronted by the status quo. If observed, further, it is found that views which substitute the consensus for an objective standard have certain consequences which few would accept. The open-minded Galileo advocated that the earth revolves around the sun, with which few agreed during his lifetime,

At the beginning of U.S. history there were many debates on how the country should be run. People mainly argued about the balance of power between the individual person and the Federal Government. Some people and documents that addressed this issue are the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, The U.S. Constitution: Preamble and Bill of Rights, and “Jefferson: The Best of Enemies” by Ron Chernow.