Burning of the Flag
... What causes people to feel so strongly about the emblem of a regional entity? What relevance does such a symbol have in our society today? So the dilemma is whether to consider flag burning an expressive conduct, the exercise of one’s right to free speech, or an act of disrespect towards official symbols of the country. Nowadays new actors are being involved in the burning flag controversy. In the most general perspective, the participants of the controversy are people belonging to the rival camps of “burning-the-flag” defenders and opponents. Application of Concepts and Theories Now let’s look at the problem from the point of view of semiotics and analyze flag as a sign, as Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz recommends in the Chapter “Signs.” Semiotics posits that the merger of a signifier and what is signified creates a sign. Over time, a merger occurs between the signifier and the idea it expresses, so the sign is ready to be used as a signifier again, associated with another idea to create a new sign. In simple words, the meanings symbols carry is that which humans attach from their own learning. Semiotics involves a sort of unpacking of signs by looking at them not as having any natural meaning, but as constructs reproducing society's beliefs. No doubt, that the national flag is a sign. It represents the merger of a signifier (a collection of stars and stripes in red, white and blue) with a certain global ideas. The flag has already been through several rounds of the transformation of signifier to sign and back again. But old significances aren’t totally dropped but warped out of shape and sublimated to new significance. The old significance also influences the formation of a new meaning of a symbol. The signifier is just a thing without meaning until it is joined with an idea to form a sign. The flag as signifier is a simple material object. Now let’s take a short historical tour. The original idea of the flag stood for the new nation which was most completely expressed in a Constitution which included the Bill of Rights. When first created on the dawn of the new country’s independence, the flag as sign represented not only love of country but liberty. In later decades, the flag became a signifier of patriotism, the love of the country, and its association with liberty has become deformed. In the seventieth, when a lot of young protesters were burning flags, it represented imperialism and military power, and mindless obedience for the governmental policies. In the late 80’s and 90’s, especially when Mr. Clinton was in power, the American flag received new significance. The Star-Spangled Banner became a symbol of economic prosperity, leadership and even hegemony. I can say that the original symbolic embodiment of the American Dream was returned to the flag. In the political sphere, the flag signified democracy and transparency. Also the flag began to be associated not only with the governmental structures, but also with the objects and processes inside the country. In the 90’s, the American banner was often associated with cultural expansion, Hollywood, and fast-food restaurants. In the modern era which can be referred to as the era of the war on terrorism, the flag gains new significance. I will elaborate on it in the concluding chapter. Reasons for Its Occurrence Burning of a national flag is a strong appeal of people’s patriotism. It calls to take action, and it’s hard from a psychologic...