Regardless of whether you love him or hate him, we can all agree that President-elect Donald Trump is not a man who pulls back his punches — even when he only has 140 characters to work with.

Whether he is hyping up his proposed economics policies or admonishing Boeing for how much it is charging for a new Air Force One jet, Trump’s posts on social media website Twitter are his thoughts at their rawest — and are often the focus of the media’s attention mere minutes after they are posted.

One of the incoming president’s tweets that generated a firestorm recently was his opinion on flag burning, in the wake of protests that have seen some desecrate “Old Glory” to demonstrate their outrage over the outcome of last month’s presidential election. In his social media post, Trump decried the action, suggesting that people who do so should face either jail time or loss of U.S. citizenship.

During a celebratory rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Tuesday, Trump again brought up the subject of flag burning and how something should be done about it, which was returned by massive cheers from the people in attendance.

The idea of punishing people who intentionally incarnate or vandalize the U.S. flag is certainly not new — Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton co-sponsored legislation during her time in the U.S Senate that would have prohibited destruction of the flag, though the bill was never passed.

There are many in the public who would support the idea of outlawing the practice as well, with opponents saying it is disrespectful to the people who died defending our country.

We feel the same way, in a lot of respects.

People who do burn the American flag often do so purely to get a reaction. There is no real argument or substance to the gesture. It is a puerile, emotionally driven action used in place of words or reason.

However, the First Amendment does not protect only speech that is intellectual or rational. Freedom of expression encompasses ALL expression, including those Americans at large consider disrespectful or offensive.

Of course, there are times when flag burning should be punished, such as when people steal flags from their neighbors and destroy them or when students remove flags from their university’s flagpole and burn them. But that is not free expression — it is stealing and destruction of someone else’s property, which is a crime.

With our country still deeply divided, it is more important now than ever that we recognize the sanctity of free speech, which remains the foundation of our society. Our flag is but a symbol of our values as a nation, not the nation itself.

We hope the president-elect recognizes this fact, and reconsiders his stance on flag burning when he takes office in January.

Opinions expressed are those of the editorial board consisting of General Manager Ambrosia Neldon and community editors Ted Yoakum and Scott Novak.