People all over the world, in their own way all share the same goal of acceptance. The reality of this goal, is that a lot of people are not accepted. In the stories “Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion” by William Brennan, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, and in the film Bullied by Bill Brummel, they all show examples of how some people are not accepted. They are not accepted in the stories, because they are different then others and people make opinions about them without knowing them. These selections show when people are not accepted, they will feel depressed and unwanted. Despite people's differences, they all have the same goal of wanting to be accepted and treated equally. Bullied by Bill Brummel shows Jamie, a gay boy that was bullied …show more content…
Johnson Majority Opinion, there are different view about how the flag should be treated. In this story Texas doesn’t approve of the flag to be burnt, but Johnson believes it is ok for the flag to be burnt because it is our right to protest. “We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an exception to the joust of principles protected by the First Amendment. . . . To say that the government has an interest in encouraging proper treatment of the flag, however, is not to say that it may criminally punish a person for burning a flag as a means of political Protest” (pg. 15 lines 1-6). He is saying that they can’t punish anyone because it is the right to protest in the First Amendment. Johnson accepted the flag to be burnt because he thought you should be able to express yourself however you want. “We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an exception to the joust of principles protected by the First Amendment” (pg. 15 lines 1-2). Johnson believes that anyone expressing themselves without hurting others should be protected why expressing themselves. Although some people believe it is disrespectful to burn the flag, we as American have the right to protest in a non-violent manner. Whether someone believe burning the flag is alright or not, they still want to be treated equal despite their
Introductory paragraph “The flag is one of the most recognizable symbol of the United States.” During the case of Johnson vs. Texas, I believe that Johnson was exercising his rights to free speech but I truly think that he should have done it somewhere else then a public square, someone could have gotten hurt by the flames of the burning flag, or Johnson could have gotten hurt because he was burning the flag around people who love the United States flag. I agree with the fact that Johnson was sentenced to 1 year in jail, he burned the Flag in Texas and in Texas they have a desecration law of violating the flag. From my own point of view, I think Johnson wasn’t exercising his rights to free speech but, he did it in the most absolutely
The general argument made by author William J. Brennan in his work, “Majority Opinion,” is that it is legal to burn the flag if it is a form of political protest. More specifically, Brennan argues that we can not criminally punish people for burning a flag: the only thing we can do is convince them that they are wrong. He writes that they only thing we can do is “ Persuade them that they are wrong.” In this passage, Brennan suggests that criminally punishing a person for burning the flag will decrease the values of the flag by opposing the First Amendment. In conclusion, Brennan’s belief is that we should not punish people for burning the flag, but convince them that they are wrong.
Dissenting opinion for Johnson Is there any sort of consequences to someone if they burn the American Flag? In the U.S Supreme Court case “Texas v. Johnson”, Johnson was jailed by the start of Texas due to the desecration of the American Flag. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted his case, and the majority opinion of the case decided it was not a criminal offence to burn a flag because of the First Amendment. We the dissenting opinion believe that the burning of the American Flag should be a criminal offence.
During the 1984 Republic Nation Convention in Dallas, Texas, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag while protesting the policies of President Ronald Reagan. He was arrested and charged with the violation of a Texas statute that prohibited the desecration of a respected object, including the American flag, if such actions would likely cause anger in others. Johnson was tried and convicted by a Texas court where he then appealed, arguing that his actions were a “symbolic speech” and therefore protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, with the issue of whether or not the burning of an American flag was or could be considered “symbolic speech”.
Arriving at the Dallas City Hall in 1984, demonstrator Gregory Lee Johnson doused the American flag with kerosene and set it ablaze (Texas v. Johnson). All through history, protestors have participated in many different actions to get their point across. The question stands: Have protestors gone too far by burning the flag? The flag is a national symbol, but by burning the flag a person is not harming the country in any way: therefore flag burning should not be illegal. Flag burning has been used to portray a protestor’s strong, negative feelings towards the American government.
A 5-to-4 decision held that Johnson's burning of a flag was protected expression under the First Amendment and all charges were dropped. In response to this ruling Congress passed the Flag Protection Act Of 1989. “The act states that ‘whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.’ The act does not prohibit any conduct consisting of the disposal of a flag when it has become worn or soiled." (1989).
One year later, United States v. Eichman was decided by the court as the Flag Protection Act of 1989 that would have protected the American flag from desecration. However, the Court ruled it’s unconstitutional to punish persons for flag burning while protesting in political events. [ United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310
The author states on lines 37-39 "The way to preserve the flag special role is not to punish those who feed differently matter. It is to persuade them that they are wrong." Because of this we can't punish or treat others differently because of what their opinions/beliefs we can only try persuading them without offending. Second, on lines 40-43 for "American Flag Stands for Tolerance" it states "My point is that freedom of conscience and expression is at the core of ourselves conception and requires the rejection of official dogma." This demonstrates that having freedom could cause people rejection which people won't think the same and could lead to disagreements.
CRJU 1068 Should desecrating the American flag be illegal? The American flag is so loved because of what it represents; the land of the free. Unfortunately, that freedom also includes the ability to use or abuse that flag in protest.
The law in Texas at the time banned flag burnings. He was convicted, and the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. We ruled that Johnson’s right to free speech had been violated. He was expressing symbolic speech. We ruled that even though an opinion is unpopular, doesn’t mean we have the right to restrict his freedom of
Constitution states “ prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech”, which is the foundation of our country. Flag burning is an expression of speech that we should not take away from our citizens. As First Amendment Center explains “Dissent plays an important role in a democratic country where the people enter public debate on important issues” (First Amendment Center). Constructive criticism of our government only makes the country a better place to live; over the past 231 years we have made strides in improving our Constitution with constructive criticism from our citizens. We have ended slavery and allowed minorities to vote; all because we listen to the words of our citizens.
A public flag burning in protest of a recently enacted law is protected by the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause. The desecration of flag burning is idiomatic to the 21st century. Flag burning became an issue in the U.S. after the Civil War and since that time has had a drastic history. "Congress passed the Federal Flag Desecration Law in 1968" (Head, 2017). The law banned all exhibition of abhorrence against the flag.
First in the court case “Texas V. Johnson majority opinion” they stated that the people had the right to burn the flags due to the first amendment protecting them even if offended. For example they quoted “the way to preserve the flags special role is to not punish those who feel different it’s to persuade them that they are wrong”(lines 30-36). Furthermore “our decision is a reaffirmation of the principles of freedom and inclusiveness that the flag best reflects” (lines 27-29). So these quotes tell’s me that the courts tone is precise and that they are sure about their
This issue won’t be fixed anytime soon because there are many people who have different opinions. With different opinions can create conflict. This conflict at the moment is as stated before between people for and against flag burning. What it really comes down to be I believe is ones morals? People have different morals and so they will believe what they want to.
The burning of the American flag should not be protected by the First Amendment. 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.