You can hate flag burning and still defend the right to do it. Flag burning always stirs strong feelings. To some, it’s a deep insult to the nation and those who served. To others, it’s a way of holding the government accountable—using the very symbol of freedom to protest when that freedom feels at risk. That clash is exactly why the First Amendment exists. It’s not there to protect the speech everyone agrees with; it’s there to protect the speech that makes us uncomfortable. Recently, veteran Jay Carey burned a flag outside the White House to protest Trump’s new executive order targeting flag burning. He wasn’t charged for the act itself, but with illegally setting a fire in a federal park. Still, the moment raises a bigger question: do we still stand by free expression when it offends us? What’s striking is that even some conservatives defended his right to protest. Because in the end, the same freedom that protects burning the flag also protects waving it. Both matter only if w...