honors+history+posts



Honors students...you can post your essays here so as not to get our home page too confusing.

Jim Szente III Mr. Loman U.S. History Flag burning essay. The American flag is thought to be much more than a colorful scrap of cloth that we hang in our offices, class rooms, and businesses. People associate the values that our revolutionary forefathers instilled into the documents that are the basis for our laws and government with the American flag (document D). It is not the flag that upholds our rights, our freedoms, or our government but the documents and people behind it. The flag symbolizes the unity of our nation and the liberties that we are given (document G). So when Johnson set fire to that flag in Dallas, Texas in 1984, he destroyed the symbol of the very liberties that allowed him to get away with burning the flag. In other, less free countries, burning the flag is considered treason and you can be killed for it. Burning the flag isn’t always intended as an offensive action, if a flag becomes tattered and worn, burning it is an accepted method of disposal (document I). **I believe that Johnson should have been punished only for destruction of property; the sentence he received was too harsh for the action.** Johnson was only expressing his disdain for our government’s unsatisfactory actions. Johnson’s **actions should have been protected** by the first amendment; he was only expressing himself in a nonviolent, semi-peaceful way (document B). The government takes flag burning more seriously than it should, instead of prosecuting a protester for expressing his feelings, it should focus on the more violent acts that occur (document L). I believe that the government was wrong in prosecuting Johnson so harshly. //**Jim - this is pretty well written...however, this is meant to be an essay/topic that you develop a bit more...where is an intro, and/or conclusion...and it seems a tad inconsistent...you start of speaking very highy of the flag with things like...values, forefathers, basis for laws and government, national unity, etc...along with this notion that YOU BELIEVE he should have been punished but then argure the government was wrong to punish.**..IF his actions should be protected, why is he punished at all??...// Just some food for thought. Loman