Nothing I’ve ever written has provoked as many responses as my recent column on the proposed Flag Protection Amendment (” Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory,” Oct. 27, 2003, Page 94). To recap, I suggested that liberals (including me) ought to rethink their vocal opposition to the amendment for three main reasons.
First, the amendment would not really restrict freedom of expression, in the sense that no ideas or viewpoints would be suppressed. One manner of protest � flag burning � would be prohibited, but the underlying sentiments could still be expressed in countless other ways. I also pointed out that the familiar “slippery slope” argument has remarkably little force in this instance, given the extraordinary difficulty of amending the Constitution. Finally, I noted that 80 percent of Americans are in favor of a flag protection amendment. That is not reason enough to support it, of course. Majorities are often wrong. But it would not hurt for liberals to pay more attention to the preferences of the majority, especially in purely symbolic matters.
