Society of Skeptics Discuss: The American Flag
During the second trimester, Kimball Union’s Society of Skeptics, a group discussion organized by faculty members Dan Weintraub and Michael Porrazzo met in the Coffin Meeting Room. That night’s topic: What about Donald Trump’s Tweet? Should citizens lose their citizenship or be arrested for burning the American flag? "One side argued that burning the flag should be protected by the first amendment because it’s symbolic speech. The other side was that burning the flag was disrespectful and could insight public disturbance,” recalls Ben Y ’17.
Opinions throughout the evening varied as different perspectives were shared. “Honestly, it was really hard for me to give any input because I just know the basics. Coming from China, an environment where the media is run by the government, I haven’t really learned anything negative about my government,” remembers Ben Y. Max ’18, from Germany, brought another international perspective; “My opinion throughout was that it should be allowed and it is a high level of demonstrating. It is one level higher than going out on the street with signs asking for change.”
As the discussion continued, the conversation became more philosophical. Ben K. ’17 explained, “Because of our (US) history of gaining independence, our national flag means more to us than it does for other countries. So people get offended when we burn it. On the other hand, many minority groups feel oppressed by the US government... We talked about the freedom of expression and how people interpret it differently. Many people are offended when people burn the flag as a symbolic gesture for problems that they see the US government creating.”
Ben Y. explains, “If you begin to take a little bit of the first amendment away, more could easily follow,” going on to say, “This is a unique situation because in the US the flag is a lot more symbolic than in other countries. . . I think it should be legal but if you cause public disturbance and unrest, you should be arrested for public disturbance. But physically burning the flag should be protected.”
Owen ‘18 is in agreement; “By the end of it, while I still thought flag burning should be legal, I was less sure of it. I saw examples of when the first amendment did not apply. Perjury is an example of free speech that is illegal, and for good reason.”
Donald Trump and Flag Burning aside, one thing is for certain; The Society of Skeptics is one evening not to miss. But don’t take my word for it:
“It was my first Society of Skeptics meeting and I will definitely go to future ones. I very much enjoyed it.” –Owen
“I would recommend it to anyone. It is very interesting and there are nice people there. You learn a lot. Everyone has respect for others, everyone is listening and thinking, everyone has their own opinion.” –Max
Stay tuned for our next Society of Skeptics update.
Opinions throughout the evening varied as different perspectives were shared. “Honestly, it was really hard for me to give any input because I just know the basics. Coming from China, an environment where the media is run by the government, I haven’t really learned anything negative about my government,” remembers Ben Y. Max ’18, from Germany, brought another international perspective; “My opinion throughout was that it should be allowed and it is a high level of demonstrating. It is one level higher than going out on the street with signs asking for change.”
As the discussion continued, the conversation became more philosophical. Ben K. ’17 explained, “Because of our (US) history of gaining independence, our national flag means more to us than it does for other countries. So people get offended when we burn it. On the other hand, many minority groups feel oppressed by the US government... We talked about the freedom of expression and how people interpret it differently. Many people are offended when people burn the flag as a symbolic gesture for problems that they see the US government creating.”
Ben Y. explains, “If you begin to take a little bit of the first amendment away, more could easily follow,” going on to say, “This is a unique situation because in the US the flag is a lot more symbolic than in other countries. . . I think it should be legal but if you cause public disturbance and unrest, you should be arrested for public disturbance. But physically burning the flag should be protected.”
Owen ‘18 is in agreement; “By the end of it, while I still thought flag burning should be legal, I was less sure of it. I saw examples of when the first amendment did not apply. Perjury is an example of free speech that is illegal, and for good reason.”
Donald Trump and Flag Burning aside, one thing is for certain; The Society of Skeptics is one evening not to miss. But don’t take my word for it:
“It was my first Society of Skeptics meeting and I will definitely go to future ones. I very much enjoyed it.” –Owen
“I would recommend it to anyone. It is very interesting and there are nice people there. You learn a lot. Everyone has respect for others, everyone is listening and thinking, everyone has their own opinion.” –Max
Stay tuned for our next Society of Skeptics update.
