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The Citizens Flag Alliance is an organization devoted to a single purpose: "to persuade the Congress of the United States to propose a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from physical desecration, and send it to the states for ratification"; its web site can be found at http://www.cfa-inc.org. The author of the Flag-Burning Page, on the other hand, describes his site as "a standing protest to any amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would allow Congress or the States to pass laws against flag burning-laws that the Supreme Court has already said are unconstitutional."

Spend some time exploring the substance and spirit of each of these web sites. Which aspects of the debate on desecration of the flag does each site emphasize? Consider the evidence each presents to support a particular point of view. Does each rely more on visual or verbal texts to make the case for–or against–laws banning flag-burning activities? To what extent does each site provide new evidence–or angles–on the debate?

Use an Internet search engine to explore other web sites devoted to the debate about representations of the flag. In what ways do these other sites extend, complicate, or enrich your understanding of the public debate surrounding the flag-burning issue?

You might visit the Phoenix Art Museum’s site on the controversial exhibit "Old Glory: The American Flag in Contemporary Art". The site will provide you with links to newspaper reports on the controversy surrounding the exhibit, as well as selections from the show.

Icons are prevalent in many areas of American life. Sites such as the Museum of Advertising Icons display a variety of icons–in this case, many related to toys. The Collector’s Corner offers a section, for example, on "What Makes an Advertising Icon a Collectible?" and archives of icons ranging from the Jolly Green Giant to Big Boy and TeleTubbies. Explore the history of advertising on this web site. Examine the icons highlighted from different periods. Comment on the marketing strategies embedded in these choices. Which icons seem to have the most value to collectors? Why?

Examine the web site at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/1217/MacGallery.html . The managers of this site describe it as "The web's largest (over 680) collection of Apple Macintosh images, icons, logos, buttons, bars, 'Made with Mac and iMac' badges and banners, and Apple product pictures for use on personal web pages." Visitors to the site are encouraged to "show the world that your page was 'Made with a Mac.' The Mac, and now the iMac, is the best and easiest-to-use computer to produce first class web site pages." How do the images and the language presented at this site reinforce–or subvert–the identity of Apple computer as "an American icon"?