Yes,
if
I
were
king,
I
would
not
allow
people
to
go
about
burning
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.
That
was
the
main
kind
of
speech
that
tyrants
would
seek
to
suppress.
—The
late
Supreme
Court
Justice
Antonin
Scalia
in
a
2012
interview,
making
it
crystal
clear
why
the
First
Amendment
protects
burning
the
American
flag.
His
comments
are
uniquely
relevant
since
President
Donald
Trump
recently
singed
an
Executive
Order
purporting
to
outlaw
burning
the
American
flag
—
just
like
a
tyrant
would
do.