Blasphemy? No, it is not blasphemy. If God is as vast as that, he is above blasphemy; if He is as little as that, He is beneath it.

- Mark Twain

It should infuriate true patriots when opportunistic politicians put on a star-spangled show to demonstrate what noble Americans they are by rushing to the defense of a flag that needs none. What it embodies simply can't be destroyed by a match.

But what can be undone by an act of Congress is a constitutionally protected right to free speech that gives citizens the liberty, among other things, to protest through fliers or flag burning, regardless of how reprehensible the latter may be to most of us.
[...]
And the hard reality is American men and women have died to uphold that right to speak freely and demonstrate passionately.

- Toledo Blade

First, it's worth pointing out that the amendment to ban flag burning is quite close to being passed by the senate, and would almost certainly be ratified by the states. This isn't just an abstract argument - this is something that may very well happen unless some attitudes are changed.

Proponents of the amendment say that we opponents are "out of touch" with public sentiment. Maybe some of us are. Not me - I know that public sentiment is violently against flag burning, and not apt to realize that banning flag-burning is even more unpatriotic than flag-burning itself.

Opponents should fight against passage of the amendment, but we should also work on getting the general public thinking more clearly about the issue.

One point is that an amendment banning flag-burning will result in more flags burned. But more important is that the freedom that the flag represents will be diminished. A flag, as the Toledo Blade editorial points out, is just cotton and dye. If we undermine the freedom and justice that we see represented in the flag, then burning it is no different than burning an ordinary piece of cloth. If we allow our government to stifle free expression, then the flag becomes worth less.

It's a symbol, and if it is to have value as a symbol, then we must make the nation that it represents worthy of our respect. Banning expression we disagree with is a major step toward doing the opposite.

We should not be so cowardly and small that we cannot tolerate expression with which we disagree. We allow the KKK to assemble peacably, not because we admire the KKK or think their cause is just - we allow them to assemble peacably and express their views because we are strong enough, and secure enough in our own beliefs about justice and in our own cause of equality, that we do not need to ban the expression of the other side. Our cause stands on its own merit, not because we outlaw expression of the other views.

The same should be true of our respect for the flag - otherwise our respect for the flag is superficial and empty.

Update: Via JayG, a list of conservatarian bloggers who agree. I enjoy finding ground for agreement with people like Say Uncle. It's kind of scary when that happens with Little Green Footballs.