"The permeability of the boundary between outlawing disrespect and compelling respect for the flag became especially clear during periods of crisis. During World War I, hundreds of people suspected of political dissidence or merely of insufficiently enthusiastic patriotism were, as in the Starr case, attacked by mobs that sought to compel them to kiss the flag, often while government officials looked the other way or joined in."
Earnest V. Starr

January 1, 1970