Not Ever

Some idiot preacher in Florida burns a Koran and the Afghans go nuts.

So our numbnuts leaders (a) say its the idiot preacher's fault that the Afghans went nuts and (b) want to find a way to limit freedom of speech to prevent future burnings of the Koran so the Afghans won't go nuts anymore.

No, its not the idiot preachers fault, unless Afghans are animals without the ability to reason. Would it be OK for me to murder someone (or twelve someones) because some guy, not one of those to be murdered, had greatly offended me simply by saying something that I disagreed with? Can the people blaming the idiot preacher really be that stupid? Well, they seem to be stupid enough to believe that banning Koran burning will sufficiently appease the Afghans so they'll be our bestest buddies 4ever.

And no, Senators Graham and Reid, you don't get to change the provisions of the Constitution protecting freedom of speech and freedom of religion just because a bunch of assholes riot and murder at the drop of a hat on the other side of the damn world. Was there ever a time when there weren't a bunch of assholes on the other side of the world ready to riot and murder at the drop of a hat?

Civics for Dummies (I'm looking at YOU, Reid and Graham; do you even know what the Constituion looks like?): Freedom of speech primarily means freedom of offensive, even highly offensive, speech. Yes, "allowing" people such as idiot preachers to say offensive things sometimes makes things more difficult. But once upon a time, more than a hundred years ago, back when people talked kind of funny, a bunch of people got together and decided that in the long run, it would be better if the government was not in charge of deciding who could say what.

I think maybe, just maybe, Americans need to show the world that freedom of speech doesn't mean just being able to burn the American flag. Maybe we really do need a National Burn the Koran Day. I have no particular desire to offend anyone. But there seem to be a great number of people of a specific religious persuation who need to learn that (a) the proper remedy for bad speech is more speech, not beheadings or running airliners into buildings, and (b) we will not change that no matter how many riots are staged and no matter how many people are murdered.

Not now, not ever.