Week 9: First Amendment & The News

Today I was asked to write a 300 word blog about how I interpret the recent announced plans by Rev. Terry Jones to burn the Koran on September 11, 2010. The general idea is that doing so will put American lives in jeopardy in Muslim countries. Logically, it makes sense to believe this. This action could give Muslim extremists something to use as fuel to enflame their Jihad. Does the first amendment protect someone if they choose to do this? Can Rev. Terry Jones be arrested for inciting further hatred for the U.S. in other countries? I don’t believe this singular act could cause such damage alone, but Terry Jones won’t be alone. He will be accompanied by his congregation and the footage of this action will be recorded and distributed throughout Muslim countries, there is no doubt about it. This poses a new question; is upholding the first amendment worth risking American lives? I wonder what a soldier would say about it. After all, it is them who are putting their lives on the line to protect our freedoms; including the freedom of speech. A person could argue that to be an American patriot, one would need to embrace the risks of true freedom. I think there should always be a balance, that some things should not come to pass. I know that many people have been upset by the idea of a mosque being built at ground zero; the place where the two towers of the world trade center once stood. It makes sense to be sensitive to this concept as it was a group of Muslim extremists who killed all those innocent people when the 9/11 attacks happened. But burning a Koran as a religious statement will not bring any of those people back. It will not help to cultivate diplomacy in Muslim countries. To be quite frank, there is absolutely nothing to be gained from burning the Koran.