Oregon Man Indicted for Stealing Flag He Burned

By Kelley Moen, 9-03-08

A southern Oregon man was charged with stealing a flag that he burned to protest the war in Iraq.

According to an AP report, Ashland police arrested 36-year-old Jason Sherman after he stole a flag that belonged to the Kiwanis Club, climbed a statue and set the flag on fire.

While first Amendment to the United States Constitution protects people’s freedom of speech and freedom of expression, including the symbolic expression of burning a U.S. flag, the law does not permit theft. 

Historically, flag desecration has been a deeply contentious issue.  But today, defacing a flag is an act of protected speech under the First Amendment, as established in Texas v. Johnson in 1989 and reaffirmed in U.S. v. Eichman in 1990.

In these next few months of heated politics, as the media puts Democratic and Republican National Parties in the limelight and the November elections are just two months away, demonstrations against the war in Iraq will likely be as common as vanilla ice cream.

But some people are questioning why a demonstrator would steal from the Kiwanis Club to protest the war. 

An international organization, the Kiwanis Club was founded to improve the quality of life for children throughout the world.  According to their website, “Kiwanis members have helped shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged, and care for the sick. They have developed youth as leaders, built playgrounds, and raised funds for pediatric research.”

And ironically, the Kiwanis Club encourages living the Golden Rule in all human relationships.  This rule, “to treat others as you would expect to be treated”, includes respecting the property of others.

Kiwanis International has more than 600,000 members in more than 13,000 clubs located in more than 90 countries around the world, and the political views of this organization lack any reported solidarity.

Did this flag-swiping, flag-burning, statue-climbing protester believe he would have a better chance of making headlines by breaking the law before protesting it? 

Why didn’t Mr. Sherman just dole out the bit of cash it would take to buy very his own American flag? Home Depot sells one, a 3-by-4 flag big enough to make a scene if it burned atop a statue, for $15.00. 

According to another report, Kiwanis Club president Russ Chadick supports the right to protest, but he says protesters should “buy their own flags.”

The key question to pose, particularly during the time of presidential elections and political fanfare might be this:  Are the freedoms we have as U.S. citizens, including the freedom of speech and the right to desecrate our own flag, worth at least 15 bucks?