The Meaning of the First Amendment

First Amendment are suddenly an issue. Consider:

A group wants to build a mosque near Ground Zero.
Other groups are protesting the mosque.
A small church plans to hold "burn a Koran day".

The reaction to these:

Many on the left are insisting that the mosque will be a monument to tolerance and diversity.
Many on the left insist that protesters have no right to protest.
Many on the left condemn the Koran-burning. The Secretary of State has said that it is un-American.

The First Amendment issues get complex from here. Yes, the Muslims have a right to build a mosque, even if it offends people. Similarly, the First Amendment gives people the right to object to the mosque. People who are in favor of the mosque seem to forget that their opponents also have a right to be heard.

This is the issue at the heart of the Koran-burning. Freedom of religion means just that. You can say that your religion is the only true one. You can give examples of why other religions are wrong. You can publish a book on why all religions are wrong. And you can burn holy books from other religions. That much is a First Amendment right.

Which does not mean that burning a pile of Korans is not offensive. Here is where it gets interesting. Building the mosque is also offensive to millions of people but the people condemning the Koran-burning are supporting the mosque.

This is further complicated by international politics. When a claim was published that a Koran had been flushed down a toilet, it became an international incident. It also turned out to be a fabrication. A few drops of water touched a Koran and the story grew in the telling. By the time the story ran itself out, people had died in international rioting.

Burning several Korans is bound to provoke international outrage. Gen. David Petraeushas compared it to Abu Ghraib. Several top US officials have asked the church to cancel the event.

So where does that leave us? Are we going to put an asterisk on the First Amendment saying "* Not valid in cases of foreign outrage"? Our leadership has made it clear that they care more about international pressure than First Amendment rights. To be fair, the burning will make it more difficult to conduct the war in Afghanistan but it would be nice to hear someone in the administration acknowledge that the book burning is a constitutional right and part of our cultural heritage. It would also be nice for someone to point out the number of US flags that are burned abroad.

Obviously, offending millions of Americans with a mosque is ok but offending millions of Muslims is not. Is this because they know that Americans may stage orderly demonstrations instead of deadly riots?

Finally, Secretary of State Clinton asked that the press stop covering the story. There is a measure of wisdom in this. The coverage is all out of proportion to the size of the congregation. But freedom of the press is another of those First Amendment freedoms.