Talking points1. Cartoonist Randy Bish suggests that public para-noia is what’s fueling the campaign to ban flag burningat the expense of one of our First Amendment rights.Define what he means by paranoia.

2. According to the Freedom Forum website, FirstAmendment experts regard flag desecration as aform of political expression that should be protected.What argument can you pose refuting that stance?Doesn’t the flag deserve protection?

3. On what grounds can you defend flag burning?

Additional resourcesAssociation of American Editorial Cartoonistshttp://editorialcartoonists.com/More by Randy Bish http://aaeconline.org/cartoon/browse.cfm/BishR/More on the Flag Burning Amendmenthttp://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/

Get out your newspaperGather a collection of political cartoons from your news-paper over the next two weeks. Using the CartoonEvaluation Worksheet (available online at the NIEWebsite) analyze each cartoon and explain the issuesaddressed and determine the point of view of the artist.

Cartoonist Doug Marlette says author Kurt Vonnegutonce compared the artist to the canary in the coalmine, a hypersensitive creature who alerts hardier lifeforms to toxic gases by kindly dropping dead. If politicalcartoonists seem awfully sensitive when it comes toissues involving Freedom of Speech, maybe they’re justtrying to warn us before it’s too late. Cartoonists rely ontheir First Amendment rights to be able to freely dotheir jobs -- to inform, to criticize, to persuade, to takeour public figures to task for what they do. An issue likeprohibiting flag burning certainly has the canary chokingon the threat to the First Amendment.

Cartoons for the Classroom is available through Newspaper in Education programs. Copyright Online Publications Inc. and NIEonline.com

Cartoons for the ClassroomPresented by NIEonline.com and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)

Why is Freedom of Speech a burning issue?

Between the linesIn late July, 2005,the House passed aresolution: “Proposingan amendment to theConstitution of theUnited Statesauthorizing theCongress to prohibitthe physical desecra-tion of the flag ofthe United States.”The proposal wasdesigned to overturna 5-4 Supreme Courtruling in 1989 thatflag burning is a pro-tected free-speechright.

Cartoon courtesy Randy Bish / Tribune-Review