Collection 1: "Texas v. Johnson, Majority Opinion" by William J. Brennan

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. joust
    a combat between mounted knights tilting against each other
    We decline, therefore, to create for the flag an exception to the joust of principles protected by the First Amendment....
  2. foster
    promote the growth of
    National unity as an end which officials may foster by persuasion and example is not in question.
  3. compulsion
    using force to cause something to occur
    The problem is whether, under our Constitution, compulsion as here employed is a permissible means for its achievement.
  4. fortify
    make strong or stronger
    We are fortified in today’s conclusion by our conviction that forbidding criminal punishment for conduct such as Johnson’s will not endanger the
    special role played by our flag or the feelings it inspires.
  5. conviction
    an unshakable belief in something without need for proof
    We are fortified in today’s conclusion by our conviction that forbidding criminal punishment for conduct such as Johnson’s will not endanger the
    special role played by our flag or the feelings it inspires.
  6. paraphrase
    express the same message in different words
    To paraphrase Justice Holmes, we submit that nobody can suppose that this one gesture of an unknown man will change our Nation’s attitude towards its flag [Abrams v. United States].
  7. breach
    a failure to perform some promised act or obligation
    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.
  8. statute
    an act passed by a legislative body
    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.
  9. implicit
    suggested though not directly expressed
    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.
  10. affirmation
    a statement asserting the truth of something
    Our decision is a reaffirmation of the principles of freedom and inclusiveness that the flag best reflects, and of the conviction that our toleration of criticism such as Johnson’s is a sign and source of our strength.
  11. inclusive
    encompassing much or everything
    Our decision is a reaffirmation of the principles of freedom and inclusiveness that the flag best reflects, and of the conviction that our toleration of criticism such as Johnson’s is a sign and source of our strength.
  12. immortalize
    be or provide a memorial to a person or an event
    Indeed, one of the proudest images of our flag, the one immortalized in our own national anthem, is of the bombardment it survived at Fort McHenry.
  13. bombardment
    the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area
    Indeed, one of the proudest images of our flag, the one immortalized in our
    own national anthem, is of the bombardment it survived at Fort McHenry.
  14. resilience
    the ability to recover readily from adversity or change
    It is the Nation’s resilience, not its rigidity, that Texas sees reflected in the flag—and it is that resilience that we reassert today.
Created on Mon Jun 15 15:50:26 EDT 2020 (updated Wed Jul 29 10:47:33 EDT 2020)

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