Thomas Jefferson said, in his first inaugural address (1801), "Error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to tolerate it."

I spent 3 years on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps (Munsan-ni, Korea and Fuji-Yoshida, Japan) during the Korean war and, like most Americans, I get a lump in my throat when I see the flag of our nation properly and proudly displayed. I grit my teeth--and sometimes even clench my fists--when some arrogant ingrate tries to desecrate that sacred symbol of freedom.

But part of the genius of our system is in it's protection of the right of peaceful dissent, and amending the constitution to prevent flag-burning is like swatting at a mosquito with a sledge-hammer--much more likely to damage the body (the Republic) than to have any effect on the pitiful mosquito.