plates and whether the ban is in violation of the First amendment. 2015 marks 150 years

並討論此案是否違反憲法第一修正案，2015年適逢內戰結束150週年

since the end of the Civil War, and some have argued that the southern confederate flag

有人認為，南方邦聯旗象徵的是

is a symbol of national shame and institutionalized racism. So, do states have the right to ban

國家恥辱與制度化歧視，究竟政府是否有權禁止邦聯旗？

the confederate flag?

Well, the question is being posed by a group known as the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

提出質疑的是邦聯軍人遺族會

Their logo, which includes the confederate flag, has been approved for use on nine other

他們的標誌包括邦聯旗在內，經核准可使用在其他9州車牌上

state license plates. The group has also attempted to have a former KKK leader memorialized on

2011年，為紀念3K黨前任領導人，他們試圖在密西西比州車牌加上其圖像

Mississippi license plates in 2011. Like many neo-Confederates, they have said that the

和新聯盟國（neo-Confederates）許多成員一樣

flag represents their proud Southern heritage, and is not representative of racism. The lawyer

他們認為邦聯旗象徵過去南方歷史榮耀，而非歧視

for the Sons of Confederate Veterans argues that the government cannot ban the flag on

該團體律師表示，政府不該以冒犯他人為由禁止邦聯旗

the grounds that it could be offensive, since doing so would be in violation of the First

因為這違反憲法第一修正案的言論自由條款

Amendment’s free speech clause.

However, Texas disagrees. Back in 2010, The Board of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

但德州政府不同意，早在2010年，德州車輛管理局便以8比0票數禁止邦聯旗

voted 8-0 to ban the confederate plates. In their arguments to the Supreme Court, the

最高法院上，他們所持論點是

Texas DMV says that the ban did not violate free speech, because the license plates are

該禁令未違反言論自由

government owned and considered “government speech”. The reason, they say, is that “final

因為車牌所有權歸政府，等同「政府言論」

approval authority” of the content lies squarely with the government, not a private

因為車牌內容「最終同意權」掌握在政府手上，而非私人團體

party. So can states ban the confederate flag? Only when it comes to government owned property.

所以政府可以禁止邦聯旗嗎？ 只有在政府財產上才能算數

Private citizens, on the other hand, can paint the confederate flag on nearly every square

此外，民眾在自己車上幾乎任何地方都可繪製邦聯旗

inch of their vehicles. Whether that includes a government issued license plate is for the

但是否包括政府發放的車牌在內

Supreme Court to decide.

則必須交由最高法院裁定

In the same way that flags and symbols are given meaning, our language is often more

旗幟與符號賦予意義，語言也是如此

powerful than we think. Check out this video on Seeker about how language changes even

語言有很大的力量，超乎我們的想像，請看Seeker這部影片

our perception of the universe. Thank you for watching TestTube, if you enjoyed this video, please subscribe.

內容是語言如何改變我們對宇宙的看法，感謝收看TestTube，別忘了訂閱頻道