Flag Amendment

Could there possibly be a more monstrous desecration of the American flag than to deny the freedom of expression it symbolizes by enacting this flag-burning amendment (June 25)? The congressmen who voted for it are no friends of liberty, America or the flag.

PETER GAFFNEY

Los Angeles

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I am confused. The House just passed a constitutional amendment that would allow flag desecration to be made illegal. Since only the sacred (worthy of worship) can be desecrated, they have essentially declared the flag to be sacred. A few days before, the same body advocated the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings. Had any of these folks bothered to read the Ten Commandments recently, they surely would have noticed that the jealous God quoted therein considers the worship of material objects to be a serious enough offense to warrant punishment through three or four generations. Are not these two actions grossly contradictory?

STEVE HUNTER

Hollywood

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Interesting June 26 story about the Nuremberg laws manuscript turning up at the Huntington Library and now going on display at last. The three laws evidently set the stage for the disaster that was to befall the world. My own knowledge of the detailed history is regretfully limited. The Times describes the first law as defining citizenship in the German Reich and the second as prohibiting marriage and other relations between Aryans and Jews. But the third law mandates loyalty to the Nazi flag.

Hmmm. Didn’t our own House of Representatives recently pass a similar law?

DIANA STRAIN

San Diego

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They may burn the flag but they will never destroy the fabric that has held this country together for over 200 years!

PHIL MARSALA

Arcadia