Confused about burning ettiquite

Why is it okay to burn books and not okay to burn flags or controversly why is it okay to burn flags or not books? Just wondering. I leave you all with the words of the Man in Black.


Ragged Old Flag Lyrics
by Johnny Cash
< Download Johnny Cash Ringtones > < Send to a friend >

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town".
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hangin' on it".
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down,
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of
That Ragged Old Flag

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That Ragged Old Flag

"On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they've about quit wavin' back here at home
in her own good land here She's been abused,
She's been burned, dishonored, denied an' refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
and i believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I *do* like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag"

I personally don't think it's right to burn either, but I'll defend to the death your right to do so.

:hi: I agree i hate what the bush administration done to this country. It pains me that we have such a pathetic leader that people would want to descorate thier own nations symbol because of the trash that's in the white house.

I like to think of DU as my family. :D

Welcome to the world of DU
a good little place she is.

Burning books is an extreme form of censorship.

Right or wrong, burning the flag is an extreme form of free speech.

In that sense, the two things couldn't be more different.

...unless of course, the book or flag in question doesn't belong to you, then it's theft and vandalism.

:)

Free Speech Is My Religion.

because the approved way of disposing of American flags is to burn them! . . .

so, the difference must be what the person doing the burning is THINKING at the time . . .

if the flag burner is an American Legion officer who's thinking about how respectful his action is, it's okay? . . .

but if the flag burner is a protester thinking that he's making a point about US policy in Iraq, it's a crime? . . .

thought crimes are a hallmark of fascism . . . and making flag burning illegal -- in certain circumstances -- is a thought crime . . .