Some Free Speech Please

This morning while I watch "Morning Joe" on MSNBC I saw a strange alliance take place. Donny Deutsch, a far-left commentator and Patrick Buchanan, a well-known conservative, both agreed on a solution for Terry Jones - the pastor who wants to burn the Koran. They believed that for the sake of national security that if the pastor insists on going through with the burning that President Obama should use Federal Marshals to arrest Pastor Jones for the sake of national security and the lives that may be saved if Muslim do not riot. President Obama can then use his justice department to create some charge to hold Jones on. To this solution Trouble-Maker has only one word.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
If anyone thinks that I am sympathetic to Pastor Jones then they should read my last post. But such an action would clearly strike at the heart of freedom of religion and free speech. Those are two cornerstones of American democracy. It is not hard to defend freedoms with those we agree with or disagree with but are still acceptable. But where the rubber meets the road is when we have to defend these rights for those who are offensive, such as Pastor Jones. His actions are clearly religious in nature and the expression of a given idea about Islam. We can speak out against his actions all we want. But his actions are covered by constitutional rights and if we do not defend them now we may not defend them in the future.
And what sort of a future may that be. Will we arrest a pastor who speaks out against homosexuality under the guise of ridding our society of "gay bashing"? Will we confine a supporter of Afrocentric theology so that the clergy person does not incite inner city riots? Should we round up religious critics of the Afghanistan war in the name of "protecting the troops"? The type of rash action proposed by Deutsch and Buchanan is a short cut that sets a precedent that can not be easily erased. Religious viewpoints seen as acceptable today may not be seen as acceptable tomorrow. And once those viewpoints are not seen as acceptable then all sorts of governmental abuses become possible.
Trouble-Maker stands squarely on the side of free speech and freedom of religion. If those rights mean anything then they mean that the government does not use its power to squash religious expression and speech it does not want to have. Those of us outside the government can call Pastor Jones whatever name we want or boycott organizations we disagree with. Private citizens can react in whatever way they want to offensive speakers. The government has to stay out. In doing so we do not only protect the rights of Pastor Jones. We also protect our own rights to ridicule and minimize his stupid ideas about burning the Koran. By protecting Pastor Jones I ultimately also protect myself.

Sincerely,

Trouble-Maker