On November 29th, President-Elect Donald Trump quite randomly tweeted: "Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag-- if they do, there must be consequences-- perhaps the loss of citizenship or a year in jail!"
Naturally, the internet erupted... As it always seems to do when Trump tweets.
But there's good cause for concern.
However one feels about the American flag, one cannot deny that flag burning falls under the jurisdiction of freedom of expression—and is therefore protected by the 1st Amendment.
The late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was able to put aside his personal feelings about flag burning and uphold the Constitution, in the 1989 case of Texas v. Johnson.
He later said in 2012, “If I were king, I wouldn’t go about letting people burn the American flag. However, we have a First Amendment which says that the right of free speech shall not be abridged, and it is addressed, in particular to speech critical of the government. I mean, that was the main kind of speech that tyrants would seek to suppress.” Scalia also made a similar statement three years later, saying, “If it were up to me, I would put in jail every sandal-wearing, scruffy-bearded weirdo who burns the American flag. But I am not king."
Scalia had the ability to separate himself from his work and do his job—defend the Constitution, the single most important document in American politics. If Trump's tweets are any indication, he has no interest in protecting the Constitution, something people on both sides should be afraid of. Hopefully, Mr. Trump will have a change of heart, but as of right now, he looks to be dangerously authoritarian... Which is the direction America has been heading, but in a far more subtle, less intense way.
I'd like to say it nihilistically amuses me to see people who previously couldn't care less freaking out, but the President-Elect showing such a disregard for freedom of expression is frightening.
Because, no matter how you feel about flag burning, a President who's willing to disregard the First Amendment is a far bigger threat to liberty.
