We are supposed to be a nation of laws.
We are supposed to be a nation of ALOT of things. You won't find any individual who can obey every single law throughout their entire life.
The real laws are written on some men's hearts Fweidner, which will naturally be at odds with what has been written on government documents from time to time. If you neighbor's kid is drowning in the pool, are you going to obey the "No Trespassing" sign and watch it happen?
Are you willing to admit that there are times when the laws actually stand in the way of doing the right thing?
Like an attorney told me once: The law is no substitute for common sense.
Unwritten laws are not laws, they are principles, philosophies, or opinions.
A "No Trespassing" sign does not usually carry weight of law, it usually indicates the poster's desire to have their property left undisturbed. A man has a right to govern his own property, but does that property right outweigh the right of a child to live? That's a conflict of rights that I'd resolve "in my heart" as you say, and quickly.
Any law that places one man's natural rights above those of another man who has the same rights is "in the way", and was likely written with the specific
intent of preventing the "right thing" from being done.
With regard to the subject, the right thing to do (in my opinion) would not be to condemn, or to do harm to, an American citizen for exercising his recognized right to freedom of expression, in this case the burning of an American flag, however abhorrent you might personally find it.
The right thing to do would be to allow him to exercise his rights as he sees fit, and then to do your part and to dispose of the remains of our beloved flag in a fitting and dignified manner.
I believe that that would be a much more powerful statement of true American patriotism.
Then, you would be be a true representative of what that flag represents.
