Americans: Will you tell the descendants of these men that they were fools, treasuring the US flag as they did?

The flags being burnt are the personal property of those burning them, and no one's civil or constitutional rights are being violated by that burning. The act of destroying a thing in public, just like publicizing a cartoon making fun of someone, is protected speech. Even neo-Nazi demonstrations are free speech, and protected by defenders of the First Amendment even though those defenders feel nothing but disgust and horror at the philosophy of those people. So yes, the descendants of patriots will celebrate and uphold the rights of people to protest using any symbols or costumes or actions they wish. If they don't uphold those rights, they're not patriots.

If you purchase the Whitehouse like you would have to do for a flag, it would be your personal property and you could do so.

As for the Flag, at least someone using their free speech to burn it recognizes that it has meaning and stands for something important. Those who go out and buy a flag and stick it out in the yard in a wave of patriotism, then fly it un-illuminated at night, let the weather rip it and cover it in grime, and allow it to fade to a gray and pink tangle of rags before taking it down and throwing it in the garbage are being more disrespectful of my flag than those who burn it in protest.

No, I don't like people burning the Flag, but it is only a symbol. Free speech is more important to the USA than any symbol, and as a veteran I served to help protect real things that make this nation great... not symbols made of cloth.

**** yea, free speech.

Suck it and see.