I had this strange vision the other night: a piece of performance art, pouring oil on troubled fires:

The artist would go to the statehouse lawn in Columbia, S.C., and burn a Confederate flag there. It's a very strong statement--but rather open to interpretation. The artist would say it's not to protest the flying of the flag from the Capitol--rather, it's meant as an expression of free speech, since those who wish to continue to fly the flag see its continued flight as a matter of free speech.

Would attempts to prevent the burning of the U.S. flag include previous flags of the U.S? Would it include the Confederate flag? Or would it stir simultaneous strong reactions of revulsion and support from different segments of the population? Would it become a mirror for our reactions to the subject?

Ah, well. My late brother-in-law was a performance artist who created a series of compositions each entitled "Dangerous Music #__." The best know involved a score where the notes were chosen by spraying music composition paper with submachine-gun bullets, creating holes in the staff lines. My composition might be a lot more dangerous than any of his.

--Charlie Baum