Freedom of Speech

I drove by a man yesterday who was holding a very large American flag. He was standing on the corner, on the public sidewalk next to a gas station. He wasn't saying anything, just standing there. I kept driving & thought about why he was doing that. I don't know if you have ever done something like that but I have. I stood by myself protesting the 1st Gulf War & it was scarey, but I did it anyway...until other people joined me. Anyway...you already know what happened to me at the store, so I won't go back to that but on my way back home, he was still there....only now the police had shown up and were talking to him. Now I know from experience the police are not there to chit chat. Someone complained for whatever reason and it was their job to get him to leave. This really pissed me off. I wanted to turn around and find out what was going on. But because of my earlier incident, I was not prepared for possible jail. This guy has every right to stand on public property and hold the flag. He even has the right protest. I may not agree with his point of view but he has the right to express it..publicly. The day we lose the right to public debate is the day we might as well fly the flag of China or any other communist country! xo Inge