In memory of Robert Jones, Thomas Tucker and Kristian Menchaca. Welcome Home.

To paraphrase a principle attributed to William of Ockham:

“All things being equal, the simplest explanation is the correct one.” That’s the principle known as “Ockham’s Razor”.

Exhibit A:

Witness the debate raging over the flag right now. Once again, the 2-party system is engaged in a tug-of-war and you and I are at the mercy of the 800-pound gorillas at both ends of the rope. It’s enough to give you whiplash. The country continues to be torn asunder by this polarization.

On one side, you have Republicans posturing for political traction. Trying desperately to gain some support by rallying “the base” with votes on constitutional amendments to ban flag burning and gay marriage. Ubiquitous election-year politicking. Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly support the premise, but question the timing.

On the other, you have Democrats bending over backwards trying to argue it should remain legal to desecrate and destroy the very symbol that only guarantees their First Amendment rights in the first place because it continues to fly smartly.

In the interest of bridging the political chasm enveloping us, I have a “dummy-proof” approach to end the argument over flag burning once and for all.

Constitutionally speaking, free speech isn’t free of consequences. There are laws against libel and slander. You can’t just say anything you please. There are some limits.

Therefore, if they won’t ban flag desecration outright, my plan would require that anyone who wishes to burn a flag must obtain a permit to do so. They would be required to post that permit at the site of the flag burning for 72 hours before they did so, to alert the public to the impending offense of their sensibilities.

Anyone who fails to obtain such permit, would then face a $5,000.00 civil penalty and federal charges of destruction of government property.

The permits would be a matter of public record.

That way, Americans can easily tell when they did a permit search if that guy was just the village idiot whacked out on too much LSD and still railing at the “establishment”(even though they now are the establishment) or some rabid terrorist intent on inciting jihad.

People need permits to have a parade, protest march, concert or countless other gatherings in public. The reasons why are usually dependent upon how many people will be present at the event, how it will impact pedestrian and vehicle traffic, etc.

Surely, some idiot torching Old Glory in the middle of an intersection in Manhattan would cause a ruckus. Not to mention the fire hazard, the risk to children and contributing to the rise in global warming.

By their own admission, anyone who voted against this believes that freedom of speech is of paramount importance…

Even if it desecrates a national treasure, breaks a mother’s heart, or smears the memory of the fallen, burning that flag as an expression of freedom is more important. The simplest explanation:

This isn’t about free speech. It is about trying to find the most foul, offensive, in-your-face way of provoking not only the government, but the average citizen. It is an attempt to divide and thus conquer.