CSLL - no one says you are pledging allegiance to a FLAG. The flag is a symbol of something else. Take the words "United States of America". What do those words mean in and of themselves? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They're just verbal sounds. In linguistics, though, we call them a sign (more specifically, a conventional sign). The power of a word is not in its utterance, but in what it points to. All words are like this. They are signs to an actual reality--that reality is called a reference, so all signs have a reference.
Now, the flag is only a sign (a conventional sign, like words). It points to a reference, in this case, the USA. It does NOT point to the current US Administration. It points to the essence of the nation itself. For example, every four years, someone runs for president. They don't say, "I want to run that administration." They say, "I want to run this country." The flag points to the country, not the admin.
Thus, to burn the flag is not just burning an old, outdated symbol. It is to say something about the REFERENCE, and the reference is the USA as an essence. For proof, again, think about when protesters in other countries burn our flag. They aren't asking for the downfall of the current admin. They want the nation itself to fall. That's why I think it should be illegal. It's treason.
Ngakunui - I can't speak for everyone else, but I am aware of the way the flag is honorably disposed of. I happen to have family in the military. I also agree that the best way to dispose of an old flag is to burn it. But the issue is not just flag burning, but flag DESECRATION. It's one thing to burn a flag to put it to rest. It's quite another to burn it in protest. You can clearly see the difference, especially in light of my above comments to CSLL.
That brings me to my next point to you, and this is the problem I have with people who think it should be legal. You believe it is a matter of protesting the government. To quote you:
You wrote:I believe that if citizens are not allowed to protest the government for grievances
But the FLAG is not a governmental issue. It's a national issue. To burn the flag is not to protest your government. It is to protest you NATION. I have a severe problem with people protesting in ignorance. If you are going to protest, which i fully support your right to do so, I insist that you know what and how you are doing so. If you don't understand the symbolism of your protesting, then your protesting says far more about your ignorance than your cause, and you should be dismissed out of hand as uninformed. We are not obligated to listen to the protests of uninformed people, because clearly, uninformed people do not have the information necessary to come to a proper conclusion.
If you, or I, want to protest government grievances, we should do it in a manner that speaks to the government, NOT in a manner that calls for the downfall of the nation itself. It does no good to say, "But this is what I really meant!" Let me give you an example. Suppose I stood out in front of DC and shouted "DEATH TO THE PRESIDENT!" And then suppose, when you asked me why I was so mad at the president, I replied "Angry? I'm not angry at all, I love the guy!" When you ask me about my words, I reply, "No, no, you misunderstood. I don't mean 'death' in that way. I meant it as a compliment, meaning, I hope he is president for the next forty years!"
Obviously, I'd be stupid to say that, because
that is just not what the word 'death' means. Likewise, you can say that you are not protesting the essence of the nation itself but only the government when you burn the flag,
but that is not what the action means, regardless of how you intend it.
Bottom line: when a person desecrates the flag, they are saying they hate this nation fundamentally. Such people are a threat to national security and to every citizen's ability to exercise their rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, for a person who calls for the collapse of the nation (not just the government) is one who rejects that very nation that supports those rights. Such a person, then, should be removed from this country immediately for the safety of its citizens. Flag desecration should be illegal. It is not a matter of free speech. It spits in the face of people who have fought and died for the freedoms that you are condemning.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go say my pledge of allegiance.
edit: this really goes, btw, for any country. I, as an American citizen, should not be allowed to go to, say, Britain, and burn their flag. It is one thing to go there and express my opinion as to what is wrong with their government. It is quite another to go there and declare that the nation itself is fundamentally evil and should be destroyed. So, as much as I love America, this isn't about patriotism. This is about seeing this issue from a proper frame.