A definition of the values and ethics in sport Essay Example for Free

A definition of the values and ethics in sport Essay Principles A principle is a basic truth, law or policy. Principles are standards that define moral behaviour. A principle in sport might be that the officials teat all equally on the field of play. For example the referee in a rugby match is expected to make decisions on what has happened on the field of play, regardless of who the player is, this illustrates the principle of fair play in sport. In the premier league football it is often though that players get away with behaviour that would be deemed unacceptable and against the principle of fair play. Values Values are ideals that form the basis of actions and beliefs. An example of a value in sport is when a player endeavours to play well for the teams sake and not for his or her own benefit. Foe example, a hockey goalkeeper would put herself at some risk by saving a hard driven shot, this upholds the value of playing for the sake of others. In premier league football a goalkeeper may try very hard to save a shot and risk injury because he is die to gain as an individual in a forthcoming transfer deal. This is not upholding the value of playing for others. Ethics Ethics are rules that dictate a persons conduct. They form a system of rules that groups and societies are judged on. In sport it is ethical to acknowledge that you have broken the rules of your particular game. For example, a snooker player would tell the referee that he had committed a foul shot even though the referee had not noticed, this shows ethical conduct. In athletics, a runner might take a performance enhancing drug, breaking the rules of competition this is an example of unethical behaviour. The underpinning value of these three definitions is that of fair play and abiding by the rules. Everyone involved at sport at all levels are supposed to encourage ethical considerations that will lead to fair play, it is to be encouraged at all levels of sport and towards all ages of sportsperson but particularly aspiring young athletes. The major underpinning values that are to be taught are:- * Friendship * Respect for others * Playing with a level head and a team spirit * Equal opportunities An explanation as to the importance of ethics and values for sporting organisation and the individuals who participate Individual and group development has a lot to do with the ethics and values that are learnt through life. Ethics and values are important for individuals who take part in sport because sport plays a major role in a lot of peoples lives from an early age. Players and fans that are into sport tend to devote a lot of time and effort to their favourite sport. If you look into the nature of fairplay in sport for some people it leads to their understanding of fairness in a wider social setting, this is because many of our basic values, such as playing fairly are often absorbed through athletic competition because when kids are taught about sports emphasis is often put on playing fair. The underlying importance of this is that if an individual or group do not develop a proper set of ethics and values it will make them and their club look bad. An example is a player like Roy Keane who admitted in his autobiography that he broke a fellow footballers leg simply because he wanted to. From this I can understand that Roy Keane did not grow up with the same sort of values that I did. He didnt get it hammered into him when he was young that breaking someones leg isnt part and parcel of the sport. This also reflects a bad image on the club and if my memory serves me right Manchester United round about that time were considered quite a dirty club. No proud owner of a club really wants their club to be known as an aggressive bunch of cheats. It is nobler to be like Chelsea who last year not only won the Premiership but the fairplay award as well which if you look at it really makes you think yeah they are true champions because they won it fairly. You could argue that they spent 100 million pounds to win the league but they still did it fairly more so than any other team in the land and I and hopefully many other football fans respect them for it. From a strong commitment to ethics and values players can achieve likeability and move onto more successful jobs. An example is Gary Linekar he never received a yellow card in his whole life ans he has since taken over from the legendary Des Lynam as the Match of the Day host. Players with bad reputations that are openly disliked by the majority of fans are unlikely to move onto other limelight jobs when their career over as well as simply being disliked by the general public. When these players careers are over they still have to do the shopping, go out to eat etc. When they go out into the public people are going to have an opinion of them based on the ethics and values that they have shown on the field of play. Who wants to be openly disliked? Clubs have a good public image to gain from having a strong commitment to ethics and values and all good businesses know that a good public image means more money. A consequence of bad ethics and values could be related to athletics. Probably the most talked about ethic in sport is the prohibition of using performance enhancing drugs in athletics. A lot of people do wonder what justifies this prohibition because why shouldnt athletes, especially competent adult athletes be free to take risks with their bodies? The answer to this comes down to ethics and morals most of us have about sport. This is an important rule because performance enhancing drugs such as steroids have very harmful side effects as well as providing an unfair advantage. It is important that a value such is this is instilled into athletes of all ages because really we would hope that all athletes would want to compete clean not only because they should want to see how good they can become without performance enhancing drugs but hopefully the integrity of the sport should be important to them as well. I remember I myself used to be a big fan of athletics back in the day of Linford Christie and Colin Jackson but over time I began to get tired when my heroes, the people I looked up to got stripped of their gold medals because they had cheated. Incidents like these put me off the sport and I no longer watch it, this is why it is important for individuals and organisations to have a strong set of ethics and values. Children look up to and aspire to be like a lot of the athletes that are on the TV these days and a poor showing of ethics and values by a well known professional sportsperson will surely be taken in and acknowledged as ok by many young athletes. Basically fans want to trust that an athletes accomplishments are achieved fairly. Consequences of bad ethics and values are that sportspersons integrity is totally lost, the sports integrity itself will go down and younger athletes may lose faith in wanting to be a professional. Coaches at all levels experience the pleasures of watching young people develop sport skills and contribute to successful teams. However, coaches also have important legal and ethical obligations to their athletes. Coaches need to ensure that a strong set of values are instilled right from the start of those of whom they are coaching playing days. There are a range of ethical responsibilities for a sports coach the most common are To encourage the development of youth into productive citizens and to develop their abilities and attitudes for further learning and success in life. To encourage participation and involve as many people as possible in a competitive experience. All team members, regardless of ability are to be afforded opportunities to develop their work ethic, sense of commitment, and social and athletic skills. All coaching programmes should seek to educate athletes about community support and encourage them to return that support both now and throughout their lives. And one of the biggest goals to be taught is that of The goal is to win, but to win the correct way, a player should never sacrifice his character for a win Earlier on I described the consequences of a bad set of ethics for an individual. In my opinion a coach with a bad set ethics is far worse because it is just not him or her who looks bad it is the people he/she is influencing as well. First of the importance of a proper coaching is the influential factor. This doesnt just apply to children but to adults as well. The problem these days is that winning is everything and some coaches do actually teach that. Various coaches at the top level send their players out to win a match through diving, time wasting and fouling opposition players. So adults can be influenced as well and so can kids who are learning in much the same way that winning is everything. It is imperative that a coach instils values and ethics into a child as early as possible so that they are not so easily swayed into cheating as they get older. This once again helps keeps intact the integrity of the player, the club the play for and the sport. The benefit these players will have are that they can become an upstanding member of the public a role model that players can look up to sort of like a David Beckham figure (bad example). Consequences are that from a young age players are conditioned into thinking that winning is everything and this can spill over into real life. A sports player may cheat on a maths test or lie to get a girlfriend because the values that they learnt through their coaching apply to their real life situations. Coaches need to be a positive role model and penalise unfair play! An example I can remember when this was not done was in the final of the 1999 womens world cup. The American womens football team completed regulation and extra time play against china with the score drawn. The championship, viewed through the world by millions of fans, many of them young American girls captivated by the success of the American women, was to be settled by a penalty shootout. The coach had decided one of the Chinese shooters, Liu Ying, lacked confidence so said something to the American goalkeeper, Briana Scurry. When Ying made her move, Scurry took two quick steps forward, in violation of a rule of football, to cut off Yings shooting angle. The tactic worked. Scurry deflected Yings shot and the Americans won. As for as Im concerned Scurry acted unfairly and cheated by violating a rule on her coaches advice. It set a bad example to all the aspiring young American women and for me and many other people that watched, the American victory was tainted by unethical behaviour in a deliberate violation of the rules. I see that as a major consequence of bad ethics taught and it is still happening all over the world in other sports such as boxing where fighters have cheated in a multitude of ways through their cornermen. To be honest a lot of the people that cheat in sport through advice of their coaches are remembered only for their win and not for the cheating but there are many people still out their who view these sportspeople and the people that coached them as cheats and they have to live that for the rest of their lives. The main value statements that need to be learnt in order to obtain an NVQ in sport and recreations are that people shouldnt be discriminated against based on their age, gender, ethnic origin or if they are disabled. The reason that these value statements are in place is because in this day and age there is still a lot of prejudice in the world. Prejudice cant be afforded in competitive sport or the sports industry. Sport in reality is supposed to be all about enjoyment and achievement and shouldnt in anyway be anything to do with a disability, age or colour of someones skin. The benefits of the individuals who learn these value statements and take them in are that they will influence people to shed their differences and help understand other peoples needs and this will help to draw different types of people together. Basically differences can be buried by sport if people learn these statements then apply them to the sporting organisations they work in. An example is that they could encourage different race teams or mixed age teams or include people with disabilities. Most of the football teams that we support today have a mix of nationalities. The small minority of supporters that are racist tend to support the ethnics in their own team with the same love shown to the people in their team that are the same races as them. This shows that sport can bring people together at the highest level which means that it can be filtered down to lower levels like people working in leisure centres or small clubs. With regards to age sport and sports facilities should cater for all ages. Just because someone becomes older does not mean that they lose there ability or desire to play sport. Old people should be valued equally when they go to a leisure centre its not that they want to do a swimming lap in twenty seconds they just want to enjoy themselves and be involved. Older people might look old but some dont feel old and contribute their knowledge and experience to those that are younger. The benefits of understanding the older people in the community are that it open doors and gives opportunities for special events such as swimming for the elderly or special classes. Old people dont want to feel inferior or isolated and if sporting organisations can help and understand them by arranging and encouraging activities for them to take part in it can only improve the organisations overall/community image. People in the community dont want to feel ostracised so classes such as Muslim women only classes, women only classes and free for the over 60s classes have helped participation rates in relation to sporting activities. If all the people that are part of an organisation have a good set of ethics and morals it can only be productive for the organisation. Good examples will be set, participation rates will be met and the bank balance should show a good profit. The more types of people that are mentioned in the value statements taking part in sporting organisations can only lead to good publicity for the organisation. The consequences of an organisation not having a good set of ethics and values can be quite severe. There could be legal complications if disabled facilities are not available and possibly if there are not enough people from ethnic origins not taking part. Organisations such as leisure centres could lose out on financial gains and suffer loses that could lead to a cut in jobs or the leisure centre losing its contract and being taken over or shut down. As well as that with poor ethics and values there will be no community spirit regarding the sporting organisation because if it does not cater for all the surrounding people it cannot expect to be successful. Successful businesses that have made it have done so due to the fact that they catered for the elderly, disabled etc. Manchester United offer reduced rates for the elderly and disabled and this gives them a good image which is paramount for a big sporting organisation that is in the limelight. Another consequence is that the general health of a community may declines. If the staff at an organisation are showing a lack of morals and values people may not attend which means that they are not getting the exercise that they need and this is particularly important in the elderly. For a lot of people working in sporting organisations they have to realise that the public is the main reason for their existence thus they have to be treated with some respect. If an organisation wants the public to have a good attitude towards them then they have to make sure that all their staff have people skills and a high degree of customer service skills. Employees in sports organisations have very important roles to play because they are on the front lines representing the organisations that they are working for. They need to set good examples and encourage ethics and values in every aspect of their job. If they dont it leads to customer complaints as well as tainting the image of whomever they are working for. On the managements side, they need to make sure that they instil good customer service ethics among employees and thus create a people-focused culture. They also have to take a more serious attitude to customers complaints and in rewarding those employees who display positive attitudes towards customers. Setting examples at the highest level will hopefully filter down examples to the lower levels staff who wont want to break the rules and then they should pass on these same examples to the customers they are serving. Once again this leads to increased participation rates, the business should make more money and have a decent public image. Employers and Employees have other important issues to consider such as providing high and health and safety standards. The importance of Health and safety in sporting organisations such as Leisure centres/gyms cannot be over-emphasised. This applies to employers, who must satisfy legislative requirements and employees, who work with hazardous substances. Consumers too are increasingly interested in knowing about the possible dangers of substances used in leisure centres including those that are added to their food. The public and employees stand to benefit from improved safety because effective health and safety management clearly helps reduce accidents. Obviously the less accidents there are the higher the reputation of the leisure centre/gym. A leisure centre/gym is all about reputation especially when there are so many rivals around. Health and Safety at work benefits:- Well-being at work Safety at work Quality of life Motivation Less injury or sickness Job security Good moral Low turnover Increased productivity Lower insurance premiums Increased reputation

Catcher In The Rye: The Quest For Love :: essays research papers

Catcher In the Rye: The Quest For Love In many novels in J.D. Salinger's library of books, there is a recurring theme of the loss of innocence of children, the falling and the confusions of childhood, and many other ideas that apply to the ideas of adolescence and the life of the average teenager growing up. Many of his themes occur in a short period of time in a child's life that affects him/her in a very profound and significant way. The idea of love is also a major theme that arises in many of his characters and that indicates the character of the individual. He uses love in the context of being a device that is used to protect and to care for people who need protecting and caring. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, love is used by a character, Holden Caulfield, who struggles desperately to find a certain somebody or anyone to allocate his love to, but realizes finally, that this love is not necessarily expressed through saving â€Å" the children in the rye† from the time of trial, but actually caring for them and being their friends, during the time of trial. The quest of finding the true love of people is an ongoing dilemma in the lives of many people all throughout the world. The constant need for love is overwhelming, and the tragedy of this great world is the fact that some people do not find the proper love that they deserve. Holden Caulfield is a perfect example of the striving to acquire a love sought all throughout his life. According to this quote, â€Å"He is simply expressing an innocence incapable of genuine hatred. Holden does not suffer from the inability to love, but does despair of finding a place to bestow his love† (Heiserman and Miller 30), Holden Caulfield has the need for allocating his cornucopia of love for people. His quest is very simple. He wants to do good. As compared to tragic heroes in the past, "Holden seeks Virtue second to Love. He wants to be good. When the little children are playing in the rye-field on the cliff top, Holden wants to be the one who catches them before they fall off the cliff. He is not driven toward honor or courage. He is not driven toward the love of woman. Holden is driven toward love of his fellowman...." (Heiserman and Miller 25). In other words, he is not a tragic hero, but rather a misfortuned hero that struggles to find a person to give his love to.

The Post-War World Has Been Shaped Primarily

1. The post-war world has been shaped primarily by a clash between Communism and Capitalism OR The post-war world has been shaped primarily by a clash between Nationalism and Imperialism Choose one of these assertions and develop an argument for it. With regards to the assignment question, I will certainly be in agreement with the argument the clash between imperialism and nationalism had shaped the post-war world more prominently as compared to the idea of communism and capitalism constituted to the molding of the past decades.Very simply, studies showed that even till this age of globalization, the notion of imperialism and nationalism are still floating among us, with a modern twist, that is (Tomlinson, 1991). We first have to ask the question, what sparked off nationalism? The answer by most scholars would most probably be the oppression of great powers during the time of imperialism. What then, defines imperialism and how did it came about? According to O’ Brian (2007), i mperialism is the practice of any one state to influence or conquer another with the intention to expand its wealth, power and control over dominions or self-governing colonies.After the end of World War Two, with the declination of powers among the former colonizers across the globe, the industrializing countries like Britain and France were increasingly gaining possession of many colonies (Best, et al. , 20008). It is through colonialism that the imperial powers executed what we call as imperialism where in its best sense, is the ‘natural overflow of nationality’; its test is the power of the colonist to transplant the civilization they represent to the new natural and social environment in which the colonists find themselves.And in which of course, lying beneath is a negative connotation that is often associated with a loss of identity and belonging (Hobson, 2007). The post-war world as according to Rajan and Sauer (2004) was significantly changed by the settling of foreign authority onto lands that previously had not been under any control. The intrusion of political and economic rights and cultural imperialism to mention a few had taken place and in fact, had subsequently prompted radical, socialist and even nationalist movement.To be able to gain control over a country, military force is not necessary at times (Hobsbawn, 1990). The British had illustrated a perfect scenario where apart from military control; they had also planted seeds of ‘the British way of life’ indirectly by Anglicizing basically anything from street names to the lingua franca of a local community (Moore & Johnson, 2004), like what happened in Ireland and the Malayan Peninsula where English was once to be used as the spoken and official language for all formal documents in the bureaucracy (Othman, 1990). This formed the basis for cultural imperialism.Tomlinson (1991) mentioned that cultural factors are instrumental in maintaining political-economic dominance. Hence, he defined cultural imperialism as â€Å"the process of imperialist is aided and abetted by importing supportive forms of culture† (p. 3). This issue has been so central that even Irish poet Seamus Heaney, a renowned Irish Nobel Prize winner and nationalist emphasized a great deal on cultural identities in his works, in relation to the colonization of Ireland and the intrusion of the British that seemed to wipe out the local culture by Anglicizing the names of placed in Ireland, killing those who disobeyed. I am the tall kingdom over your shoulder That you could not cajole not ignore. Conquest is a lie. ’ (Act of Union 1. 9, 74) Similarly, Brian Friel, who is another famous Irish playwright in his play Translations also highlights the loss of cultural identity after the Irish language has been literally translated into English and what is left with the locals were fragments of memories and left as victims of imperialism (Friel, 2002). What has been a quest for most colonized countries was an ‘oppression-free’ nation.Repression of minority rights is often the first restriction on emerging ethnic national groups which includes outlawing native language, discouraging trade, and even relocating minority groups like the how the British imposed a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy that eventually separated three different ethnic groups to their ‘specialty’ in labor to yield the best outcome of profit for the British (Goodwin, 2001). With the increase awareness that these powers were slowly taking over bits and pieces of what originally belonged to them and the need to come together as one, the idea of nationalism seeped in.During this time, the struggle towards nationalism, or establishment of political union on the basis of nationality ‘has been a dominant factor alike in dynastic movement and as an inner motive in the life of masses population’ so said Hobson (p. 1). To define nationalism is no e asy task either. What becomes a great matter of dispute is how these national borders should be drawn, i. e. what constitutes a nation. What Joseph Stalin described a nation as depicted by Whitaker (1960) is the ‘historically evolved, stable community of language, territory, economic life and psychological make-up manifested in a community of culture’ (p. ). The idea of nationalism is often connected to the French Revolution back in 1789. It has then emerged as a powerful force in the post-Cold War world. Perhaps the most dynamic changes have taken place in areas once dominated by the Soviet Union and maybe the British (Price). It is critical to know that nationalism has reemerged as a vital factor in restructuring the international political scene in the post-war world especially during the post-Cold War period after British has transformed itself into a Commonwealth.The dynamics of a bipolar nature of the dominance by the United States and the Soviet Union was not app reciated. Lesser powers cooperated in varying degrees with the ‘superpowers’ and a multi-polar and this restored a multi-polar world increasingly driven by contentious nationalist rivalries. This is supported by Milward (1992) that the world has witnessed the collapse of empire and the resurfacing of national components from within. The fragmentation of the Soviet Union into fifteen nations is one example.The nature of nationalism itself is neither good nor bad as compared to extreme capitalism, socialism and imperialism. The events behind the scenes are what give meaning to these notions. Hence, some authors did classified nationalism into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nationalism. The ‘good’ type talks about how the nations strived to create and maintain their own nations to create a territorial boundary and something in common to be called as ‘one’ nation. It is similar to patriotism, but nationalism goes beyond the affection to wards a country which sometimes lead to the ‘bad’ side of nationalism.The â€Å"bad† kind of nationalism pitted one own’s â€Å"superior† nation or race against all others in a struggle for survival of the fittest, in other words, the hatred and despise towards other nations started to manifest in the process of acquiring strength and unity. It is this kind of nationalism that gave nationalism its bad name in Europe through the actions of men like Adolf Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic in the 20th century (Moliss, 2002). One important element of the Holocaust was that the Nazi genocidal machine was aimed not only at the destruction of the European Jewish Community, but also at the Jewish seed itself.The mass murder of the European Jews was a watershed event in human history (Gilbert, 1985). In the aftermath of World War II, the world — from individual nations to the United Nations; from religious leaders to professionals in fields as diverse as law, medicine, and science; from presidents and prime ministers to private citizens confronted its legacy (Signer, 2000). Many of the issues raised by this cataclysmic event continue to have an impact on our lives and the world in which we live.The Vietnam War of 1955 which took twenty years to end was considered to be one of the most brutal nationalist movements in world history with the victory of Vietnamese over the Americans (Willbanks, 2007). Yet this distorted view of the Vietnam veterans as victims as much as victimizers, if not as brave heroes, was not accompanied by new public policies. Although most veterans did succeed in making the transition to ordinary civilian life, many did not. More Vietnam veterans committed suicide after the war than had died in it.Even more perhaps three-quarters of a million became part of the lost army of the homeless. And the nearly 700,000 draftees, many of them poor, badly educated, and nonwhite, who had received less than honorable discharg es, depriving them of educational and medical benefits, found it especially difficult to get and keep jobs, to maintain family relationships, and to stay out of jail (Chambers, 1999). If these do not prove enough that the clash of imperialism and nationalism had altered the magnitude of the post war world, what would be the other causes then?The society of the post-war era was not concerned of what kind of social system that are benefitting to them in general. Rather, the primary issue was to fight for something in common the nation could relate to. The clash of communism and capitalism was not sufficient to demonstrate that the period had revolved around it as compared to the bloodshed and never-ending quest to fight for the independence of a nation. Try naming a successful communist country. Unfortunately, there are none.The disintegration of the Soviet Union is a solid proof that communism just does not work in the modern society and as for capitalism, the economic success of the States was at a price of other nations which have a large struggling population (Schalit, 2002). It is only within a state with well-to-do economics, capitalism shall prevail. Hence, this clash has certainly not changed the post-war world as much as imperialism and nationalism. Bibliograpghy Best, A. , Hanhimaki, J. M. , Maiolo, J. A. , & Schulze, K. E. (2008). International History of the Twentieth Century and Beyond. Oxon: Routledge.Friel, B. (2002). Translations. Kent: Faber and Faber. Gilbert, M. (1985). The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Goodwin, J. (2001). No other way out: states and revolutionary movements, 1945-1991. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Heaney, S. (1990). New Selected Poems. Cornwell: Faber and Faber. Hobsbawn, E. J. (1990). Industries and Empires. London: Helicon Press. Hobson, J. A. (2005). Imperialism: A Study. New York: George Allen & Unwin LTD. Moliis, J. (2002). Nationa lism. Retrieved April 29, 2010, from http://moliis. rg/jani/nationalism. pdf Moore, B. L. , & Johnson, M. A. (2004). Neither led nor driven: contesting British cultural imperialism in Jamaica, 1865-1920. Kingston: University of West Indies Press. O'Brian, P. (2007). World History: An Illustrated Guide. London: Star Fire. Othman, W. (2004). The Monitoring and Management of Ethnic Relations in Malaysia. In R. F. Farnen, Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Identity: Cross National and Comparative Perspectives (pp. 35-36). New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Price, G. W. (1995/1996). The Impact of Nationalism on Joint Force Planning. Joint Force Quarterly , 20-24.Rajan, B. , & Sauer, E. (2004). Imperialisms: Historical and Literary Investigations, 1500-1900. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Schalit, J. (2002). The anti-capitalism reader: imagining a geography of opposition. New York: Akashic Books. Sim, S. (1998). Spectres of Nostalgia: Post-Marxism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Tomlinso n, J. (1991). Cultural Imperialism. London: Continuum. Whitaker, U. (1960). Nationalism and International Progress. San Francisco: Howard Chandler. Willbanks, J. H. (2007). The Tet Offensive: A Concise History. New York: Columbia University Press.

Flag Burning and the First Amendment - 2123 Words

Your First Amendment rights are extremely close to being violated by none other than the United States Congress. I refer to the Flag Desecration Bill that, if passed, would do irreparable damage to our right to free speech and undermine the very priniciples for which the American flag stands. Fortunately, West Virginians have an ally in Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Sen. Byrd, who previously favored the bill, now fights to protect our rights by stopping the passage of this bill. I applaud his stand and want to reinforce his position. I also encourage you to join Sen. Byrds campaign to ensure the legacy and supremacy of the greatest law in the land: the United States Constitution. Though the Senate expects to vote on this amendment†¦show more content†¦Though the First Amendment nationally guarantees our right to free expression, the Fourteenth Amendment also champions our cause in the states by means of the due-process clause. The due-process clause states that no state shall...deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law (Wilson). Until 1925, it was legal for the states to pass legislation prohibiting such forms of protest as symbolic speech because the Supreme Court had previosly denied that the due-process clause made the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. However, in the case Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court decided that freedom of speech and of the press implicated the fundamental personal rights protected by the due-process clause, and the states could no longer breach through legislation those freedoms guaranteed to each individual (Wilson). This case established the precedence that state laws involvin g speech violate the freedom of expression guarantees of the First Amendment, made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, no matter how offensive or repugnant some forms of expression may be, that expression has strong and definite constitutional protections that cannot be encroached by the national or state governments. To create an amendment to weaken our civil liberties constitutes a means to further destroy the representation of our national symbol - the flag. Our right to engage in symbolic speech withoutShow MoreRelatedIs Flag Burning Protected By The First Amendment?1617 Words   |  7 Pages The Debate Continues: Is Flag Burning Protected by the First Amendment? Adriana Ramirez First Amendment Dr. Helen Boutrous December 8, 2016 Mount Saint Mary’s University The First Amendment says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 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The freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and most importantly the right to petition our government; all of which fall under the First Amendment in the Bill of RightsRead MoreSpeech Free Speech On The Freedom Of Speech1380 Words   |  6 PagesThe First Amendment says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. This freedom of speech clause as included in the First Amendment guarantees the citizens of America to express information and ideas freely. B ut is all form of speech free? On the most basic level, this clauseRead MoreA Political Demonstration Of The Dallas City Hall1118 Words   |  5 Pageswith burning an American flag in protest against the policies, where Reagan sought to stimulate the economy with large tax cuts. Johnson was tried and convicted, under Texas law, of the desecration of a venerated object. The State Court of Appeals affirmed the actions, until the case advanced to the Supreme Court after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that the State (consistent with the First Amendment) could not punish Johnson for burning the flag in theseRead MoreFlag Desecration Essays526 Words   |  3 Pagesgovernment by burning flags, and even cutting them up to use as clothing. Although mocking the American government and the flag is disrespectful, revoking the right to do so would be a violation of freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment. Those who supp ort the no-flag burning amendment argue that the United States flag is a special case. Because it would undermine the constitution and set a dangerous precedent that will make it easier for others enact restrictive amendments to theRead MoreThe Flag Of The United States903 Words   |  4 PagesThe flag of the United States is our national symbol and our most important symbol of all; it symbolizes our nation’s strength and pride. Due to its high values and symbolism, by  1932, forty-eight states had adopted the flag desecration laws to legally protect and restrict desecration of the flag of the United States. However, these  flag desecration laws only lasted until 1989, because  in 1989, in the Texas v Johnson case,  the United States Supreme Court recognized that flag desecration as a formRead MoreEssay on Case Analysis Texas V. Johnson1292 Words   |  6 Pages1989 --- Decided: June 21, 1989 This case analysis of Texas v. Gregory Lee Johnson was a Supreme Court case that overthrew bans on damaging the American flag in 48 of the 50 states. Gregory Lee Johnson participated in a political demonstration during the 1984 Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, where he burned the American flag. Consequently, Johnson was charged with violating the Texas law that bans vandalizing valued objects. However, Johnson appealed his conviction, and his caseRead MoreEssay about Against Making Flag Burning Illegal924 Words   |  4 PagesFlag Burning There is a great travesty going on in America right now. Everyday, people are fighting to stop one of America’s greatest freedoms, the freedom of speech. Even this way of exercising America’s greatest amendment, freedom of speech, is not liked by all people it is still protected under our nation’s law. The act of publicly burning an American flag is something that is deemed disgraceful by many Americans, but it should not be outlawed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people are offended by the act of