If you believe in property rights, the entire flag question is resolved easily and instantly. Everyone has the right to buy (or make) and therefore own a piece of cloth in the shape and design of an American flag (or in any other design) and to do with it what they will: fly it, burn it, defile it, bury it, put it in the closet, wear it, etc. Flag laws are unjustifiable violations of the rights of private property.....On the other hand, no one has the right to come up and burn your flag, or someone else's. That would be wrong, not because a flag is being burned, but because they are burning your property without your permission. They are violating your property rights. Peace and the non-aggression principle are simple to comprehend. I keep my hands off of you and your stuff, and you keep your hands off me and my stuff.
No PhD's in "political science" required.
Well said!