Is the American flag a secular symbol or a sacred icon?
July 30, 1998 By Edward Tabash Atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers have a vested interest in fighting all forms of censorship. Throughout history, the most egregious forms of censorship have always been directed at the suppression of religious dissent. Heresy and blasphemy have always been the primary historical targets of censorship imposed by a given power structure. We thus have a direct kinship with everyone who chooses to dissent from the prevailing viewpoints of conventional society. The crown jewel of protecting free expression, at least here in the United States, is the First Amendment. So long as your mode of expression does not physically harm another person or physically damage the property of another, your mode of expression will be protected. The mere fact that onlookers or listeners find your comments or actions to be offensive is not a basis for banning that form of expression. Since its ratifcation in 1791, the First Amendment has stood as the bulwark against censorsh
