'A free country should not be afraid of its own flag' - Reader's letter
Sylvia Foreman questions whether it is right to stop people flying the Union Flag
Birmingham City Council has applied for an injunction that could result in people being imprisoned for up to two years for flying the Union Flag .
This raises serious questions about freedom of expression and the kind of society we wish to live in.
The Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom. For many people it represents our shared history, culture, unity and national pride. It is a symbol associated with a country and democratic values for which generations of people have sacrificed and, in some cases, given their lives.
Britain has traditionally placed a high value on freedom of speech and peaceful expression. We regularly see flags representing different countries and political causes displayed publicly, for example, quite a few Palestinian flags have been on display recently . Whatever one's views on the causes, the ability to express them peacefully is an important part of a free democracy.
So why should displaying our own national flag be treated as something that could warrant such an extraordinary restriction?
A democratic society should be confident enough to allow peaceful expressions of national identity, even when some people may disagree with them. Indeed, freedom of expression means very little if it protects only opinions and symbols that happen to be popular or politically acceptable to certain groups of people .
If we begin restricting the peaceful display of our national flag, we should ask where that leads us. Suppressing lawful expressions of national identity in the name of protecting social harmony risks undermining the very freedoms that democracy is supposed to protect.
People are entitled to hold different views about Britain, its history and its future. But those who choose to live here should also recognise that British people are entitled to express pride in their country and its national symbols without fear of criminalisation.
The Union Jack should not be a symbol of division. It should be something that people of all backgrounds can see as representing the United Kingdom and the freedoms that come with living in a democratic society.
This issue deserves careful public scrutiny. We should be extremely cautious about any measure that could turn the peaceful display of our national flag into a criminal matter .
A free country should not be afraid of its own flag.