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Hi! In my ELA class we read your short story Old Glory, and I was wondering why you wrote it. We talked about the sci-if warnings, and what made it a science fiction short story, but I still wonder, What made you want to write Old Glory and why would we not be able to have freedom of speech? Also why would we be S.O.S.ed of we did so?
Reply by Bruce Coville
Hi, Alex -
The short answer to why I wrote "Old Glory" is that I was requested to write a story for an anthology called 2041 - a collection of short stories set in the future.
The longer answer is that I was furious about people trying to ban flag-burning, which was a direct assault on the First Amendment to the Constitution (Free Speech!) I wrote this story as a kind of protest.
It is not that I am in favor of flag-burning. It is that I am deeply opposed to laws that restrict any form of free expression!
BC
The short answer to why I wrote "Old Glory" is that I was requested to write a story for an anthology called 2041 - a collection of short stories set in the future.
The longer answer is that I was furious about people trying to ban flag-burning, which was a direct assault on the First Amendment to the Constitution (Free Speech!) I wrote this story as a kind of protest.
It is not that I am in favor of flag-burning. It is that I am deeply opposed to laws that restrict any form of free expression!
BC