Here we go again. It is that patriotic period between Flag Day and the Fourth of July and conservative politicians in Congress see a political opportunity -- to protect Old Glory from flag burners, and never mind that most Americans have never personally witnessed this form of odious protest.

The trouble is that even odious types of free speech fall under the protection of the First Amendment. If the flag really does stand for freedom, then burning the flag as a protest is itself an expression of that freedom and it would be illogical to ban it. In essence, that is what the U.S. Supreme Court thought back in 1989, when by a 5-4 majority, it held that flag burning was a constitutionally protected form of free speech.

Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the court's most conservative members, was part of that majority -- and it's not really surprising. The flag is the grand symbol of American freedom. The actual essence of our freedom is free speech. Without free speech, without the right to protest government behavior, America is not America.

Whether taking an action such as burning a flag constitutes speech is a fair point to debate, but it is not illogical to hold that it can be. But arguing about the wisdom or lack thereof in the old Supreme Court ruling is one thing; amending the Constitution to correct a problem that has turned out not to be a problem is another.

Yet seeking a remedy to virtually non-existent flag burning has become a fetish repeated every year and at about the same propitious time. So there was the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday sending a flag-burning amendment to the floor on an 11-7 vote. Majority Leader Bill Frist says a vote will come this month.

Of course, if it follows the usual practice, wiser heads will prevail and the amendment will once again fail. No matter. The real value in this exercise is throwing red meat to the right of the political stage; it's an opportunity to show how unpatriotic those liberals are because they think on this issue Justice Scalia got it right.

All the while the truth remains: Freedom's flag doesn't need a constitutional amendment to protect it.