Buring the Koran

Okay, so take it as a given that the guy is a retard and burning the Koran like he wants to do is a retarded act. There's nothing interesting there.

My question: if exercising a freedom means that everyone from the local news to the President to General Petraeus is going to jump on you and say not to do it... is it really still a freedom? Prosecution isn't the only penalty that's out there. Social condemnation, media pressure, etc. all have a serious impact. That's a separate world from what's governed by the Constitution, but it's reflective of our society. Obama says it's "contrary to our values." That's not true; it's contrary to some of our values. It's hypocritical to assert that someone has a freedom, but they should not actually exercise it. The best way to put it is that it is congruent with the values implied by the Constitution, but it's contrary to some of the values held by many of the people. That's not exactly the moral high ground in a society that supposedly values freedom.