My Confession

I have burned an American Flag.

I admit this of my own free will, no one has influenced me into this -- other than congress -- and I gladly accept any consequences as a result of having committed this heinous crime.

It was several years ago, when I was senior patrol leader of my Boy Scout Troop. The American Legion asked us to help them perform a flag retirement ceremony. I was put in charge of the entire ceremony. I gave the order, literally, for the flag to be burned.

Thus, I take full responsibility for its desecration. I can be found and arrested at work tomorrow at Adams Service Center. I will perform my punishment with honor.

Now, you guys are all saying "that wasn't desecration, that was an act of respect, you did nothing wrong."

But how do I know? I mean, laws govern what we do, not what we think while doing it. I may have felt nothing but love for that flag, my heart may have been burning for passion for the principles and freedoms it represented, but I am responsible for its destruction and I must face the law for my actions.

Or maybe I'm on to something. Maybe we shouldn't have a constitutional amendment banning the burning of the American flag, because it's the government telling us what we can and can't think.

It would be the legislation of thought. In this nation, we have the freedom of speech. Shouldn't the freedom of thought be a given?