Texas v. Johnson

The Court has interpreted the First Amendment to grant a higher level of protection to speech than it grants to conduct because not all conduct is considered a form of speech.

The First Amendment does protect all symbolic speech, because some actions do not always rise to the level of “symbolic speech” so as to require protection under the First Amendment.

Can you give an example?

The First Amendment protects certain forms of symbolic speech. Flag burning is such a form of symbolic speech.

When a flag is privately owned, the owner should be able to burn it if the owner chooses, especially if this action is meant in the form of protest.

Even though the First Amendment protects symbolic speech, an exception should be made to prohibit burning of the flag. 

The flag is a symbol of national unity that represents the ideals for which the United States stands.

When the defendant burned the flag in this case, he was making a political statement, i.e., he did not agree with the policies of the United States government.

The flag represents freedom of speech, including giving protections to those who desecrate it, if an exception is given to the flag what begins to possibly happen?

The majority of the Court, according to Justice William Brennan, agreed with Johnson and held that flag burning constitutes a form of "symbolic speech" that is protected by the First Amendment.

The majority noted that freedom of speech protects actions that society may find very offensive, but society's outrage alone is not justification for suppressing free speech.

Dissent

Justice Stevens

Writing for the dissent, Justice Stevens argued that the flag's unique status as a symbol of national unity outweighed "symbolic speech" concerns, and thus, the government could lawfully prohibit flag burning.

You are in a foreign country and you get into trouble. You can see the American flag at the US embassy about a block away.

Do you stand and wait for the police you hear are arriving or do you try to make it to the US embassy?