Read this quotation from paragraph 3 of Texas v. Johnson Majority Opinion.

Indeed, Texas' argument that the burning of an American flag "is an act having a high likelihood to cause a breach of the peace," and its statute's implicit assumption that physical mistreatment of the flag will lead to "serious offense ," tend to confirm that the flag's special role is not in danger; if it were, no one would riot or take offense because a flag had been burned.

The purpose of this statement by Justice Brennan is to appeal to his audience's -