What appears to dominate the news and international politics is America’s relationship with the Middle East.  Certainly, the events of September 12 with the burning of the American consulate in Benghazi and the attack on the US Embassy in Cairo put further strain on that teetering relationship.  But, could the events of that day been avoided?

Could it be that some folks take free speech too far in order to carry out their own agenda, knowing that they are protected by the First Amendment?  Some forget or do not care that people in other countries care nothing about free speech and they work hard at suppressing it in their own countries.

Extremists have no use for an apology from the US regarding Terry Jones’ movie, which depicted Mohammed in ways offensive to Muslims.  This country houses radicals who just sit with baited breath, looking for behavior on our part that will give them the license (in their minds) to wave their guns and set off bombs.  Intolerance breeds hatred that knows no limits.

But hold on…could this movie have been prevented from going viral in the first place?  I thank God for the rights that I have but I do not purposely use them to trample on or insults others’ feelings, even though I may not agree with what they stand for.  The aftermath of this movie could have had global proportions. 

We talk in this ministry about assessing a situation first before taking action.  Had folks allowing this movie to be shown thought first and been concerned about its possible repercussions rather than fearing their rights being restricted, this situation would not have happened and lives would not have been lost.

I call America a civilized society and that sets us apart from numerous other societies.  Many will disagree with me on this but we should have known better.  These militants were not justified but why did we allow this insult to happen?  Terry Jones was not the only one culpable here.  We took steps backwards that day under the guise of free speech.  Shame on us.