“TFP Newsletter”, Vol. V,
No. 6 – 1989 (www.tfp.org)
The
Strange “Right” to Insult Our Country
The
American TFP to the public on the Burning of the Flag
OUR IMAGINATION goes back to the Pacific Theater of
the Second World War. In March 1945, the brave American marines after an
arduous campaign against the Japanese troops are completing their conquest of
The scene is both heroic and serene. Our national
colors flutter festively yet unpretentiously in the wind. The soldiers, in a
united effort which reveals the camaraderie of hearts beating in unison,
express no sign of hatred toward the vanquished. Their only desire is to firmly
secure the mast of the flag they admire so much, so that future storms would
not strike it down. They raise the Stars and Stripes high so that it can be
clearly seen with esteem, even from afar.
Our Flag Radiates the Honor and Glory of Our Country
To the American people it is the splendor of our
nation's glory. It is undoubtedly an affirmation of our strength: strength in
defense of national honor, security and sovereignty; a robust strength, springing
from our material abundance and from our regard for all nations. We equitably
share this abundance with other peoples, even those just defeated and those
yet to share the same fate.
In the drawing on our cover, these sentiments eloquently
shine forth. There is a certain spontaneity that is not ostentatious, but
rather displays the radiant beauty of strength, idealism and generosity.
Inspired by this event, artist Felix de Weldon crafted
the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial near
Americans, from the
Is it reasonable, is it
proper that an American citizen despise it? Is it legitimate to insult it? To destroy it?
How can the cold heart of such an American desecrate
so lofty a symbol with impunity? Or even burn it? Doesn't this suggest that he
would like to destroy the country itself?
Is It among the Rights Existing
in Our Country to Allow Our Honor to Be Trampled On?
If an individual who possesses the means to successfully
and courageously defend himself were to allow his reputation to be tarnished
without protest, we would say, at the very least, that he lacks moral sensibility.
To see his own dignity trampled on should make him blush with shame! In the
same vein, should a nation be defiled by allowing its honor and symbols to be
treated with disrespect? Is this strange license to submit to what could be
called a public and arrogant sacrilege included in the body of American
freedoms?
Does the American Constitution Guarantee the
Desecration of Our National Symbols?
But our Supreme Court, to which we refer here with all
due respect, saw fit to rule, in the case of one Gregory Johnson who publicly
burned our glorious American flag in
Once a new generation of Americans becomes accustomed
to seeing the flag disrespected and burned with this impunity, which we do not
hesitate to call scandalous, it can only cause their love, respect and pride in
being American, in short, their patriotism, to diminish.
Excessive Justice Constitutes a Supreme Injustice:
Against This an Immense National Clamor seeks a Remedy
An immense national clamor is needed to call the
attention of our legislative authorities to the principal aspects of this
offensive act to our nation. The general principles of morals and justice are
above all written law. Denying this would amount to denying the wise maxim of
Roman law: "Summum jus, summa injuria" (The strict interpretation of
the law may be the height of injustice,
Just as those brave marines hoisted their victorious flag
atop Suribachi, this national clamor must take this legal maxim to the summit
in defense of the national flag, and to bring about the adoption and ratification
of an amendment to the Constitution which will guarantee, beyond any doubt, the
right of the American nation not to be vilified in its own land!
Amend the Constitution: Save the Honor of the Flag
Some might consider it inadvisable to amend the
Constitution, since it is the basic legal monument on whose immutability rests
the very stability of the nation itself. We respect the opinion of those who
think this way. We promptly add, however, that we are not convinced by this
argument because we are among those who believe the nation's stability rests
less upon the unchanging nature of its laws than upon the respect, love and
enthusiasm with which her children honor her.
What would our Constitution's solidity and vigor be
worth, we ask, in a nation where attacks against the flag and honor multiply?
And in a nation where such deplorable acts, becoming ever more frequent and
routine due to their very impunity, would be viewed
with indifference by a population made cynical by the loss of moral
sensibility?
Amend the Constitution: Save the Country
What would happen in those critical hours, which, as
history teaches us, not even the most prosperous, generous, or strongest
nations are spared, if patriotic sentiment should sink so low? What courage
would be left to fight, be it in peace or war?
Thus, the fate of the nation itself calls for an urgent
measure to repair this breach opened by the decision of the Supreme Court,
which found or supposed it found a basis for its action in the First Amendment
to our Constitution.
We recall, in this regard, yet another supreme principle
of law which is valid for all peoples, at all times, in all places: "Salus
populi, suprema lex" (The welfare of the people is the supreme law,
Cicero, De Legibus, III, 9).
Let Us Unite and May God Help Us
In thus proclaiming its thoughts and sentiments, the
American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP)
cordially addresses all public figures, associations, groups or currents of
opinion who have already spoken out, or plan to address this issue, in order to
propose a concerted action for this high purpose. We beseech Divine Providence
for Its paternal and decisive support so that the wishes of so many good
Americans triumph, and so that this country retain the
inalienable right not to suffer attacks against its honor.