--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Burning the flag is a form of expression…" description: "\"Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png" --- # Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't… ![“Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea - I hate the government, the government is unjust, whatever.” quote by Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png) > “Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea - I hate the government, the government is unjust, whatever.” [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Burning a flag is a symbolic act that conveys political dissent, expanding the definition of speech beyond verbal or written expression. **In simple terms:** Symbolic protest as speech Key Takeaway Acts can be protected speech Themes political dissent symbolic expression free speech civil liberties government criticism Mood defiant critical assertive Type political legal philosophical When to use this quote - public demonstrations - online activism - art installations - court cases Key Concepts symbolic speech first amendment political protest government authority Practical Applications - legal analysis of protest rights - educational curricula on civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - When does symbolic speech become harmful? - How should societies balance respect for symbols with free expression? A Different Perspective Some argue that flag burning incites violence and undermines national unity, suggesting limits on such expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [There is a Constitutional right of expression through speech any opinion good or bad only reveals those words are unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/there-is-a-constitutional-right-of-expression-through-speech-any/) [Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/) > [There is a Constitutional right of expression in speech any opinion good or bad only reveals the words are unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/there-is-a-constitutional-right-of-expression-in-speech-any-opinion/) [Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/) > [Since we don't have a tyrant or a dictator, we can't put people who are burning flag in jail. But Donald Trump is telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/since-we-don-t-have-a-tyrant-or-a-dictator-we-can-t-put-people-who/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I am amazed that Congressmen can pass a bill imposing severe penalties on anyone who burns the American flag, whereas they are responsible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/i-am-amazed-that-congressmen-can-pass-a-bill-imposing-severe/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I say not one penny more to countries that are burning our flag.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-say-not-one-penny-more-to-countries-that-are-burning-our-flag/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [A flag is supposed to represent everything that a country does. It doesn't only represent the good things. If you burn the flag, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/a-flag-is-supposed-to-represent-everything-that-a-country-does-it/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The flag is a symbol of the fact that man is still a herd animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-flag-is-a-symbol-of-the-fact-that-man-is-still-a-herd-animal/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Our flag is not just one of many political points of view. Rather, the flag is a symbol of our national unity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-cronauer/our-flag-is-not-just-one-of-many-political-points-of-view-rather-the/) [Adrian Cronauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-cronauer/) > [I was raised to pay respect to the flag. That is a symbol that stands for the men and women who have put their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-reynolds/i-was-raised-to-pay-respect-to-the-flag-that-is-a-symbol-that-stands/) [Kim Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-reynolds/) > [“President of the United States and the Chief of Naval Operations, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/president-of-the-united-states-and-the-chief-of-naval-operations/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [ \[Confederate flag\] it's a symbol of racial hatred. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/confederate-flag-it-s-a-symbol-of-racial-hatred/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [The American flag is the symbol of our freedom, national pride and history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-fitzpatrick/the-american-flag-is-the-symbol-of-our-freedom-national-pride-and/) [Mike Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-fitzpatrick/) > [I couldn't stand for a flag that represented tyranny and oppression. Not just from a domestic perspective but from a global one. It's supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abdul-rauf/i-couldn-t-stand-for-a-flag-that-represented-tyranny-and-oppression/) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf > [The rainbow flag is a symbol of freedom and liberation that we made for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-baker/the-rainbow-flag-is-a-symbol-of-freedom-and-liberation-that-we-made/) [Gilbert Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-baker/) > [Whether it's people walking off 'The View' when Bill O'Reilly makes a statement about radical Islam or Juan Williams being fired for expressing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantor/whether-it-s-people-walking-off-the-view-when-bill-o-reilly-makes-a/) [Eric Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantor/) ## More by Antonin Scalia > [What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/what-is-a-moderate-interpretation-of-the-text-halfway-between-what-it/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If you think aficionados of a living Constitution want to bring you flexibility, think again. You think the death penalty is a good idea?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-think-aficionados-of-a-living-constitution-want-to-bring-you/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [More importantly, the Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/more-importantly-the-court-forgets-that-ours-is-a-government-of-laws/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Wringing your hands about states' rights, forget it. They're gone. Basically, the federal government can do whatever it wants. Who's going to protect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/wringing-your-hands-about-states-rights-forget-it-they-re-gone/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If you condemn someone who has committed a crime to be tortured, that would be unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-condemn-someone-who-has-committed-a-crime-to-be-tortured-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Being a good person begins with being a wise person. Then, when you follow your conscience, will you be headed in the right direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/being-a-good-person-begins-with-being-a-wise-person-then-when-you/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [The court's job is to uphold the Constitution and you don't call that off in times of crisis. Would the framers have allowed this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-court-s-job-is-to-uphold-the-constitution-and-you-don-t-call-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [We have laws against torture. The Constitution says nothing whatever about torture. It speaks of punishment; 'cruel and unusual' punishments are forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/we-have-laws-against-torture-the-constitution-says-nothing-whatever/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-i-have-brought-any-message-today-it-is-this-have-the-courage-to/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Many think it not only inevitable but entirely proper that liberty give way to security in times of national crisis--that, at the extremes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/many-think-it-not-only-inevitable-but-entirely-proper-that-liberty/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [That's the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/that-s-the-argument-of-flexibility-and-it-goes-something-like-this/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Why in the world would you have it interpreted by nine lawyers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/why-in-the-world-would-you-have-it-interpreted-by-nine-lawyers/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [ Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality \[whatever that means\] were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/who-ever-thought-that-intimacy-and-spirituality-whatever-that-means/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [I'm nervous about our civic culture. I'm not sure the Internet is largely the cause of it. It's certainly the cause of careless writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/i-m-nervous-about-our-civic-culture-i-m-not-sure-the-internet-is/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [On this day, when we're celebrating our constitutional heritage, I urge you to be faithful to that heritage - to impose on our fellow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/on-this-day-when-we-re-celebrating-our-constitutional-heritage-i-urge/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) [Explore all 146 Antonin Scalia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) ## More Burning quotes > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The entire cosmos is one vast burning bush, permeated by the fire of the divine power and glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kallistos-ware/the-entire-cosmos-is-one-vast-burning-bush-permeated-by-the-fire-of/) [Kallistos Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kallistos-ware/) > [Two beautiful women crashing and burning for the sake of the Women's Championship!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ross/two-beautiful-women-crashing-and-burning-for-the-sake-of-the-women-s/) [Jim Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ross/) > [He lowered the window, and looked out at the rising sun. There was a ridge of ploughed land, with a plough upon it where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-lowered-the-window-and-looked-out-at-the-rising-sun-there-was-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Catholicity seized on man... and the mystics, transcending all, taught him to ascend on high with the wings of contemplation the Ladder of Jacob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-donoso-cortes/catholicity-seized-on-man-and-the-mystics-transcending-all-taught-him/) Juan Donoso Cortes > [Some fighters know when to stop on their own and go on to something else, and then some fighters have nothing to go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-hagler/some-fighters-know-when-to-stop-on-their-own-and-go-on-to-something/) [Marvin Hagler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-hagler/) > [Death is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a cool, dark room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/death-is-staring-too-long-into-the-burning-sun-and-the-relief-of/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [All philanthropy ... is only a savory fumigation burning at the mouth of a sewer. This incense offering makes the air more endurable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/all-philanthropy-is-only-a-savory-fumigation-burning-at-the-mouth-of/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Time is a vindictive bandit to steal the beauty of our former selves. We are left with sagging, rippled flesh and burning gums with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael/time-is-a-vindictive-bandit-to-steal-the-beauty-of-our-former-selves/) [Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael/) > [One writes because one has a burning desire to objectify what it is indispensable to one's happiness to express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/one-writes-because-one-has-a-burning-desire-to-objectify-what-it-is/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [Nearly all runners do their slow runs too fast, and their fast runs too slow." Ken Mierke says. "So they're just training their bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/nearly-all-runners-do-their-slow-runs-too-fast-and-their-fast-runs/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [Intense, burning desire is the motivational force that enables you to overcome any obstacle and achieve almost any goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/intense-burning-desire-is-the-motivational-force-that-enables-you-to/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [Will closed his eyes. He could not hear Jem go, not anymore; he did not want to know the moment when he left and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/will-closed-his-eyes-he-could-not-hear-jem-go-not-anymore-he-did-not/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) Browse all 1,668 Burning quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea - I hate the government, the government is unjust, whatever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonin Scalia" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression-speech-doesn-t-just-mean/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression-speech-doesn-t-just-mean/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f2/antonin-scalia-2855_burning_burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression_77135.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be…” — Antonin Scalia", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antonin Scalia", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Burning the flag is a form...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression-speech-doesn-t-just-mean/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression-speech-doesn-t-just-mean/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```