The First
Amendment provides a step by step way to gather support through peaceable
assembly. It mandates multicultural
acceptance and the ability to gather in peaceful protest (at least in theory,
see Occupy Wall Street). It also
guarantees the unlimited artistic right, which believe me every religious person
has hated at one time or another. Not
only does the First Amendment allow any political and religious group to promote
their beliefs, but artists can produce anything they want. And often, as painful as it is, sensational
art spurs societal progression, an increase in peaceable tolerance, an instigation
of questioning subject matter, new thoughts.
Sometimes the best art is offensive and sometimes the most offensive art
is only made popular at all because of those who take offense.
The Innocence of
Muslims is one big Koran Test. The name
is in tribute to the extremist reaction most recently displayed by some Muslims
who believe a cartoon is worth killing one of Muhammad's creations although any
extremist has such views. The Koran Test
is like The Aristocrats joke. There is
nothing to the joke, there is nothing to the art, there is nothing to the film,
but the reaction. The filmmaker created
a Koran Test. Anyone who reacted to it violently
failed the litmus test of the First Amendment.
I'm sorry to all those who have suffered during the prolonged war,
especially those recently. If indeed
people are reacting to this at all and killing others because of this thing
called a movie, humanity has a long way to go.
Is the Koran Test offensive? Maybe every religious person or person who
believes they are religious has a point where art calls for violent reaction. Then again, maybe not so much.
"None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother
what he wishes for himself." ~Hadith
Art should provoke
thought. The First Amendment is the most
efficient tool to communicate grievances and gain empathy and change, but only
when followed exactly as the prescription states, "peaceably.' Otherwise no one cares what your message is. Otherwise the people who would care about
your message will receive a distorted message.
After all these years of war people are massing over a hambone? What about the terminator drones? You have to have a clear message and you
can't be violent. Violence whether
fought with RPG or IED is much more vulgar than a hambone.
The First Amendment
promotes forgiveness and openness. No
other earthly law is more forgiving and enabling of an open society. The catch is the hambone wins. The Koran Test is a joke, but seriously, you
only give power to a message by reacting to it.
The Koran Test is a joke, but really the more extreme someone reacts to art
the less credible they are and the more interest they spur by reacting in the
first place.
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