“Free speech is a great idea, but . . . ?” But what? If it truly is a “custom” to murder cartoonists and kill over the Koran, then Islam has the problem — not us

By Michael Graham Boston Herald
Excerpt:  "In his indispensable book “America Alone,” Mark Steyn records how British Gen. Sir Charles Napier handled India’s tradition of “suttee” — the practice of burning widows to death in their husband’s funeral pyre. He told the locals:

“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”

In America, we used to have a custom, too: Freedom of expression. Citizens moved to protest burned books, waved posters calling for the death of unpopular presidents, torched flags and the like. Americans didn’t necessarily like watching elected officials being burned in effigy, but we didn’t get too worked up about it, either

Now we have a new standard: The Muslim Standard. Burning books is fine — just not the Koran. Offensive political cartoons are no problem — unless they offend Islamists.

The result is a moment that is extremely uncustomary: The president of the United States, members of Congress and key military leaders joining together to condemn an American citizen for political protest — not because it violates our values, but because it violates the values of militant, living in the 9th-century Islamists.

In other words, Barack Obama has brought the free speech standards of Iran and the Gaza Strip to the streets of the United States.

Since American liberals don’t have the guts to say it, allow me: the Rev. Terry Jones hasn’t done anything wrong. Nothing."
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