Jeremiah Smith: “opponents of the amendment like to say that America is not facing an epidemic, that we have a few acts of flag…”

“opponents of the amendment like to say that America is not facing an epidemic, that we have a few acts of flag desecration. Depending on how you want to define them, they are usually by some crazy person or some nut, or whatever term you want to apply to it, or someone who is demented. But I think opponents try to downplay the number of desecration incidents that we have in this country. They not only use flawed statistics, but I think they also miss the point that numbers don't always tell the story, and who is doing it is another issue. I would like to give an example. I am a former schoolteacher. You are never a former teacher. You are always a teacher; once a teacher, always a teacher. I used to try to instill in my students the patriotism and respect for the country. I taught civics. I wonder if you will hear the opponents of our amendment talk about what happened a few weeks ago in a town called Somerset, MA. Two teenagers--just two--smashed several dozen Civil War-era gravestones, toppled several others, and burned and shredded 87 American flags that were placed on 60 gravestones in that cemetery--Civil War veterans. Sixty stones were toppled or vandalized. One hundred American flags marking the graves of war veterans were either stolen, ripped, or burned, according to the Boston Herald. Opponents who argue that no great and extraordinary occasions justify the proposed amendment are simply off the mark, in my view.”