Protect our Principles, Uphold our Values, & Ban the Flag

Anthony Quarles

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the

people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.1 This

means, as Americans, we have unalienated rights and freedom given to us and protected by the

First Amendment. Of all our rights, one of the most precious and most controversial is our

freedom of speech. As individuals we are entitled to express our opinions, write, publish, and

communicate, and such expressions must be respected. However, the questioning of these rights

have not been secluded, and the right to free speech is being scrutinized more and more.

Although our right is fair and just, freedom of speech is a double edged sword. For many people,

the liberty to express their feelings and beliefs may be beneficial, but the same liberty can be

counterproductive for others and detrimental to a progressive society. The most blatant example

of this is Nazi symbolism in America. The Nazi flag was used by the Third Reich2 during Nazi

Germany as a symbol of Aryan identity and German nationalist pride. Since the 1940s, the use of

the Nazi flag has become increasingly taboo and is subject to legal restrictions in numerous

countries. Despite the symbolism behind the flag, public display is protected by the First

Amendment and attempt to ban it would be considered unconstitutional. Freedom of speech is a

cherished principle and right within America, but it should not be able to justify the freedom of

hate, racial supremacy, and discrimination. Thus, the best course of action would be for the

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United States government to criminalize and illegalize the use and public display of the Nazi

flag.

Most Americans do support making the Nazi flag illegal in

comparison to the support of other popular flags.

Many Americans agree that criminalizing and illegalizing the Nazi flag would be most

appropriate for America. However, the amount of public display of the Nazi flag has grown

increasingly since the 2016 presidential election. Nazi flags and stickers were even being sold

alongside campaign merchandise in various states. Subsequently, disparities among various races

and religions have been illuminated. This would make you want to ask, what is the actual

percentage of Americans who agree with the symbolism behind the Nazi flag?

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Research shows that 57% of Americans support the ban of Nazi flags, opposed to 29% of Americans who
believe it should remain legal. The support of the ban is also amongst popular advocacy for the ban of
ISIS flags also. As for minority opinion, 72% of black Americans support the banning of Nazi flags.3

Its unusual that if majority of the American population wants to make something illegal, theyre

not able to. But the growing backlash against the Nazi flag does suggest that, Americans are

trying to highlight what it symbolizes; not heritage nor pride, but a regime of white supremacists

who went to war in order to preserve a racist, murderous, and immoral lifestyle. In purest terms,

if people continued to fly the Nazi flag, the statements being made are We agree with the history

behind this flag, we are racial supremacists, and we miss this dark part of history.

You may ask yourself, why are people flying the Nazi flag? What does the flag symbolize to

those who are displaying it? These are questions that can be answered through the analytical

understanding of the people. To understand the reasons for wanting the flag, we must understand

the person flying it. The flag is a symbol, and the person who displays that symbol is the one

who defines what it symbolizes.

Who are flying these flags...and Why?

Despite the negative connotation and association with some of the most blatant acts of human

rights violations committed in the 20th century, those who identify with the political party Adolf

Hitler brought to the forefront during World War II are still alive and well, even in the United

States. Most of the people who fly these flag are considered to be Neo-Nazis;4 adopted by the

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Nazi party regime during the 1940s in Germany. The U.S. version of the Nazi party, known as

the American Nazi Party5 was formed in 1959. Its ideologies were racial supremacy and racial

segregation. Americans who identify as Neo-Nazis say they only use the politically charged term

Nazi because most Americans do not understand what a National Socialist is. While most

Americans believe the goal for all Nazis is to eradicate all non Aryans, or anyone who is not 100

percent from european descent, the American Nazi Party says its primary goal is to attain their

Fourteen Words: We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.

According to the American Nazi Partys website.

National Socialists are certainly NOT supremacists, rather we are

SEPARATISTS - we believe that RACIAL SEPARATION is best for all concerned.
White and non White alike.6

IF there could be one ALL-WHITE nation on planet Earth, where

racialists could happily live - AWAY - from others, whom we prefer not to coexist
beside, we would move there.7

The American Nazi Party believes that their agenda is not racist or harmful, but

simply a lifestyle that theyd choose. Racial separation, like in the 50s and 60s,

would be beneficial to everyone including those who dont agree with their

ideologies. The American Nazi Partys second goal is to achieve success for the

White working class. They also add that it is not their goal to harm anyone who is

Jewish or of Jewish descent.

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 What we ARE out to destroy is, the JEWISH MONIED ELITES
POWERHOLD in America, where for example, ISRAEL'S best interests are put
BEFORE the best interests of America and its citizens.8

Ironically, there are many reasons as to why someone would turn to the American

Nazi Party. People who are socially and economically alienated from mainstream

society are especially prone to turning towards extremist parties. As for the

American Nazi Party, many people are scared of detachment from conservatism.

People who are against or are frightened of modern economic, social, or political

trends and changes, see it as decline of traditional society. The Nazi flag is a symbol

of their pride and perseverance of their movement. Its their recognizable fabric that

gains them attention and instills in them a sense of identity.

In our contemporary world, the rise of gay rights, civil rights, the increasingly

prominent role played by people of color in positions of influence, the evolution of the

American family, and other such developments are all perceived as a threat to people who

are educationally, socially, or economically on the margins of our society. As a result, it is

comforting to band together, lash out at the frightening modern world, and sharply defined

us against them,which brings into the mix the acute racism of National Socialists.9

The Nazi flag symbolizes their struggle for understanding, a call to attention for their

cause, an effective propaganda, and serves as a public reminder of their ideologies.

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The Problems With the Flag

Signs and symbols have for generations represented events, culture, and religion.

These signs and symbols have evolved over time and correspond to the culture, time

period, and society. Hitler wrote of the flag stating that We, National Socialists,10

regard our flag as being the embodiment of party program. Subsequently, After

millions of people were systematically killed by Nazi flags, worn by Nazi supporters

on their uniform, the symbol now became synonymous to genocide, fascism, and

racism.

The Nazi flag represents a dark time in history that has traumatized many people.

The flag symbolizes genocide and hate, and to deny that is ignorance. Display of the

Nazi flag is a severe provocation, insults all the victims of Nazi barbarity, and

injures the peaceful human character. The flag shows no empathy or sympathy

towards those who died in World War II and disregards the lives of millions of

people. Americans are distraught and afraid to even be around the flag. Seeing the

flag in public could make someone automatically uncomfortable.

On June 26, 2016 CBS Minnesota reported that many residents in the nearby area

were disturbed at the Nazi flag in a neighbors yard. The next door Jewish neighbors

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were frightened for their life and many of the small town residents filed complaints

to the local police office. Everyone was uneasy and everyone did not like it.

In Stratford, a man named Joseph Sincavage, put out an American flag alongside a

Nazi flag, and he received negative backlash. One of his neighbors stated I dont

think the flag should be flown, its anti-everybody. The man who owns the flag said

that it was political protest against the Obama administration. However, residents

reported that when they first see the flag, they wouldn't assume its political protest,

but instead a sign that hes against America and everyone else. Many neighbors

called the police about the flag and took pictures of the house. This illuminates the

negative aspect the flag has to many Americans.

This graph highlights the percentages of American citizens and British citizens who support the ban
of ISIS and Nazi flags and those who do not. 57%, over half of all Americans, believe that the Nazi
flag should be banned by law in the U.S. This is also among the high percentages of Americans who
support the ban of the ISIS flag. Nazi is held on a platform equal to, if not worse, than terrorism.11

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This graph is a more categorized representation of the percentages of people who support and oppose
the ban. This highlights the difference in the specific percentages of Democrats v. Republicans. 67%
of all Democrats believe that the Nazi flag should banned, and 56% of all Republicans believe the
Nazi flag should be banned. Over half of both major political parties agree that the flag should be
illegal, and an even higher percentage of Democrats believe the Nazi flag should be illegal over the

ISIS flag. 12

Theres seems to be a common issue and understanding in all Americans. The

majority of all Americans believe that Nazi flag should be banned and majority of

both Democrats and Republicans agree. The movement against the Nazi flag is ever

growing and most of America is on the same page. The Nazi flag should be illegal

and considered a crime. There are many negative associations with the flag; racism,

fascism, genocide, supremacy, and hate. It instills fear in many Americans and

makes citizens comfortable when seen. People fear for their life and displaying the

flag publically is a complete disregard of the feelings of many Americans. It

disregards the millions of people who were killed during the Holocaust13 and

justifies the prejudice treatment of every Jew and every minority. Im aware that a

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toxic ideology does not die out with the retirement of its symbol, but banning and

nominalizing the flag would be a start. Its an issue that affects the majority of

Americans and is hate towards racial and religious minorities.

Double Edged Harmfulness

Parading the Nazi flag isnt only discouraging and emotionally and mentally harmful

to those around, but its also harmful to the person displaying it. More often than not,

people who are seen with the Nazi flag are isolated, looked at funny, and reported.

Most Americans arent comfortable seeing or being around a Nazi flag because of its

history and its negative associations. It could potentially harm your social life and

prevent you from creating network opportunities. In addition, it could impact your

occupation severely. You could parade around the Nazi flag legally, but if an

employer saw you in a picture with it, they could very well decide to fire you

because theoretically showing support for Nazism could reflect poorly on their

business. Even if you arent fascist, racist, or hateful, being seen with the flag will

automatically brand you as that. As we saw with the Joseph Sincavage story, no

matter the intent of displaying the flag, Americans will judge you prematurely. Thus,

parading the Nazi flag has many negative repercussions for the individual. You

could lose friends, family, your job, and even be isolated from the general society,

simply because of the flag.

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Anticipation of Counterarguments

The strongest and most prominent argument to the banning of Nazi flags is the U.S.

Constitution. I understand that our First Amendment protects our rights as

individuals to freely express our beliefs, views, and opinions, no matter the style.

The U.S. government is technically not able to infringe upon the rights of its

citizens, especially those rights given plainly in the Constitution. Many supporters

believe not allowing people to hang or display Nazi flags would be violation of our

first amendment and be considered unconstitutional. In addition, the Ninth

Amendment15 protects citizens of the U.S. from an expansion of governmental

power. Basically, the main purpose of the ninth amendment is to protect individuals

basic rights such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Because it is

impossible to list each and every power and right afforded to the people, the ninth

amendment acts as an umbrella to all those rights that are specifically listed. If the

government proceeded to make the Nazi flags illegal, its supporters and ideologists

would argue the government is overstepping its power and placing unconstitutional

restrictions on American citizens, disregarding the individual's rights. Furthermore,

an argument could be made that making the Nazi flag illegal would instill a favored

dynamic in the government. The argument is that since Nazi flags are illegal,

Confederate flags, KKK flags, Christian flags, and any other flag that has negative

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associations with them, should be too. Nevertheless, our freedom of speech is

already restricted and the first amendment does not justify every verbal or written

satisfaction that someone has. As ruled in the 1919 Supreme Court case, Schenck v.

United States,16
the freedom of speech does not include the right to incite actions or

obscene materials that would harm others. The Nazi flag is emotionally and mentally

damaging to those who are victims, descendants of victims, and are minorities. The

flag is also discouraged among the entire general population. In addition, instilling a

favored dynamic within the government is ludacris. There are also people fighting to

make publically displaying KKK, Rainbow, and Confederate flags illegal.

Nonetheless, neither of these two are single handedly responsible for the deaths of

millions of people in a mass genocide. Also, the banning of Nazi flags is more

widely supported throughout the U.S. compared to many others.

Over half of the general American population (~60%) agree that banning the Nazi flag is a much
more serious proposal and a much more appropriate action in comparison to Confederate flags
(~30%) and Rainbow flags (~20%).17

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Recommended Alternatives

As a world power and world leader in the 21st century, the United States epitomizes

strength, and upholds the principles of freedom. However, when those freedoms are

negatively impacting the lives of Americans, it must be dealt with. I strongly

recommend that the United States make the public use and display of Nazi flags

illegal and punishable by prison time. Because a person has the right to his or her

own privacy, displaying the flag within their homes is appropriate. Free speech

protections should not justify the racist, facist, and hateful ideology and significance

behind the flag, especially when majority of Americans disagree with it.

This action has been taken in numerous countries. In Germany, the root of the

negative association and the birthplace of Nazism, the public use and display of the

flag is illegal and considered a serious crime. Neo-nazi parties are tolerated as long

as draw no explicit link or support for the Nazi regime.18 In Germany, many wrestle

over the dual necessity of preserving liberal freedom while also acknowledging and

condemning the evils of the Third Reich. Still, never will you see a German insisting

that the Nazi flag is apart of who they are, or that displaying the flag should be made

legal.

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Germany, France, Austria, and many other countries have legal restrictions and

strictly prohibits the public display of flags unless for historical purposes. I dont

believe America should be on the back burner of this issue. Nazism is not in our

principles and displaying the flag contradicts our morals as Americans.

The U.S. governments should strictly prohibit the public display of Nazi flags unless

for historical purposes. Public display of the flag should be punishable by fine by jail

time. As Americans, it is our duty to respect an individual's freedom of speech, thus

displaying the flag in the comforts of your own home is not an issue. The U.S. is

capable of preserving justice and liberal freedom while acknowledging and

condemning hate.

Conclusion

Through clever and common application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as

hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life paradise. The

Nazi flag symbolizes white supremacy, racial separation and represents a time of mass genocide

and immorality. These principles contradict the pillars of America and pervert the law by

justifying hate. Americans are scared, nervous, and want retaliation. We want justice and we

wish to live in a world where we arent constantly reminded of our dark past. We want to live in

a world in which we are empathetic and sympathetic, but not apathetic and ignorant. For these

reasons, it is clear the Nazi flag is detrimental to our society. It serves no purpose, therefore we

must not allow the law to be abused by vindicating discrimination, hate, or apathy.

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Endnotes

1
First Amendment of the United States Constitution
2
Meaning third regime or empire, the Nazi designation of Germany and its regime from 1933-1945 under
the leadership of Adolf Hitler
3
Moore, David. YouGov, 2015.
https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/07/16/most-americans-say-ban-isis-nazi-flags/
4
Member of any Nazi association Party similar to the German Nazi Party
5
The National Socialist German Worker Party, commonly referred to in English as the Nazi Party, was a
political party in Germany that was active between 1920 and 1945 and practiced the ideology of Nazism
under the command of Adolf Hitler. Is now redeveloped and a modern version of the 1920-1945 ideology.
http://www.americannaziparty.com/about/index.php
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Prof. David Steele, University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.2014.
http://www.mintpressnews.com/the-rebirth-of-american-nazism/180286/
10The party emerged from the German Nationalist, racist, and Freikorps paramilitary culture, which fought against the
communist uprisings in post-WWI Germany. The party was created as a means to draw workers away from communism and
into vlkisch nationalism. Initially, Nazi political strategy focused on anti big business,, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist
rhetoric, although such aspects were later downplayed in order to gain the support of industrial entities, and in the 1930s the
party's focus shifted to anti-Semitic and anti-Marxist themes
11
Moore, David. YouGov, 2015.
https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/07/16/most-americans-say-ban-isis-nazi-flags/
12
Ibid.
13
Genocide in which millions of European Jews were killed under the Nazi Party regime, under Adolf
Hitler during the 1940s, during World War II
14
Ibid.
15
Ninth added Amendment to the Constitution that addresses rights, retained by the people, that are not
specifically enumerated in the Constitution.
16
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 is a Supreme Court Case concerning the Espionage Act of 1917;
ruling is freedom of speech does not guarantee right to incite action that may be harmful to others.
17
You Gov.
18
Common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was
governed by a dictatorship, under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.

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 https://today.yougov.com/news/2015/07/16/most-americans-say-ban-isis-nazi-flags/

http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=66407

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/06/24/how-germanys-ban-o

f-the-nazi-swastika-echoes-in-the-battle-over-the-confederate-flag/?utm_term=.ce33e35a36b2

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/24/germany_banned_its_ugly_historic_s

ymbols_should_we_do_that_too.html

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-legal-in-USA-to-wave-a-Nazi-flag

http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/how-germany-s-ban-of-the-nazi-swastika-echoes-in-the-

battle-over-the-confederate-flag-1.10575479

http://www.americannaziparty.com/about/index.php

http://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/

activity-resources/what-does

https://www.minnpost.com/global-post/2010/02/despite-banning-nazi-symbols-germanys-constit

ution-and-legal-tradition-complicat

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