American ideals up in flames

More than a week ago, two minors admitted to stealing a gay pride flag from Inner Chef, a local business, and burning it. The two minors claim they took the flag because it was "unpatriotic." But if the two 17-year-olds wanted to show support for American ideals last Saturday night, they missed the boat. \nThe gay pride flag's design, called New Glory, is based on the American flag. It has a blue square with 50 stars in the top left-hand corner, just like its model. Instead of 13 red and white stripes, however, New Glory has seven stripes, each a different color of the rainbow. The similarities between the New and Old Glory are obvious. \nBut when the flag was stolen, the perpetrators of the crime were not defending American values from attack. The minors who have admitted to committing the crime were short-sighted, focusing on the sanctity of the colors in the American flag instead of the sanctity of the values it represents. \nSince its creation, America has treasured a tradition of tolerance. Puritans persecuted in the Old World came to North America to escape that persecution. They began to build communities that would eventually form the United States, a country offering possibilities for advancement and success to Protestants, then Catholics, and eventually a number of other oppressed groups. \nThe tradition of tolerance in the United States is not perfect by any means, of course -- the slave tradition is a dark and painful blemish on American history. But in the melting pot the United States has become, tolerance of alternative religions, races and sexual orientations is both valuable and necessary. Some Americans, like the minors who stole the gay pride flag, claim the importance of the flag's colors outweighs the importance of the freedom the flag represents. \nBut, we disagree. Three hundred years after the Puritans first reached North American shores in search of freedom, we must remember not to lose sight of the value of freedom and tolerance. \nThe minors have the right to free speech, according to the First Amendment. That right is inviolable unless it infringes upon the rights of other citizens, as stealing the gay pride flag infringed upon Inner Chef owner David Wade's right to own property. The minors could have voiced their opposition to the flag with a protest, or even by speaking with the store owner himself; that would have been the American way. But instead the minors stole and burned the flag to act out against open gay pride. The crime's motive makes it a hate crime, and the criminals far from patriots. \nThe true patriots are those who recognize the value of freedom of expression by exercising it in a manner that does not infringe upon the rights of others. Wade is one of those patriots. In exercising his right to express support for and identification with the gay community, he is taking full advantage of the freedom America provides. Others who call themselves patriots, and espouse intolerance, are anything but.