The Price of Speech

here are few rights that Americans revere more than freedom of speech. And we exercise it 24/7 on hundreds of channels. Some of it is uplifting. Most of it is babble. And sometimes, it’s just plain vile.

I’ve said often that while speech in this country is free, it is not free of consequences. You can say what’s on your mind and cause discord in the family, or lose a friendship. If you slander someone, they can sue you. The greater the amplification of what you say, the more damage you can do. A verbal slip by a prominent person can cause the loss of a job, or an election.

Personally, I am deeply ashamed that the video denigrating the prophet Muhammad was produced here in the United States, even while recognizing that the producer had a right to do what he did. Does this individual have any legal liability for the deaths of four Americans in Libya this week? As an aside, even the courts have recognized that there have to be some limits on speech, for example, you can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater. Is the crowded theater, in this case, the Muslim world?

The release of the film, which has actually been around for a while, was a great excuse for Al-Qaeda and other anti-American interests to launch attacks – no coincidence, of course, that all this erupted on September 11.

Here at home, I don’t question the right of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to express criticism of the Obama administration’s response to this crisis. But even he is learning that there’s a price to be paid for what many are considering ill-timed remarks.

I wish I could tell you I had a solution here . All I know is, those who were behind this movie will get what’s coming to them, and the principle of free speech, while being tested, will remain intact.

It really all comes under the heading of, “This, too, shall pass.” And while such incidents will likely repeat themselves in some form as time goes on, I’m confident that the Arab spring is NOT turning in to an Arab fall.