Thu September 13, 2012 The First Amendment: Why The Muhammad
Film Is Protected Speech The First Amendment guarantee of free
speech is in the spotlight this week. If you haven't kept up, a
U.S.-produced film depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a less than
flattering way has inflamed the Arab world. In a lot of ways,
the story is showing how the sweeping nature of the First
Amendment puts the United States at odds with most of the world.
That rift was perhaps most evident when you compare the
statements of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and that
of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Morsi asked the United
States to take legal action against the makers of the film, and
Clinton said this country doesn't punish its citizens over their
speech. "I know it is hard for some people to understand why the
United States cannot or does not just prevent these kinds of
reprehensible videos from ever seeing the light of day," she
said. "In today's world with today's technologies, that is
impossible. But even if it wa