A good speech marred by a few bad lines

President Obama's speech on freedom of speech at the UN. [Link]

Today President Obama gave a speech to the United Nations in which he discussed the murder of Chris Stephens, the nature of America's defense of free speech, and the possibilities for the ongoing relationship between the United States and the nations of the Middle East.

One line from the speech is drawing a lot of attention:

The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam.

It's a bad line. When someone quoted it, I hoped it was misquoted. It's not. It is, however, quoted without context. In context, it's one of a few bad lines in a speech that is actually a very good defense of freedom of speech. The speech deserves to be read as a whole.

President Obama started the speech the right way:

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentleman: I would like to begin today by telling you about an American named Chris Stevens.

Starting with a discussion of Chris Stephens was a good way to approach this, because the murder of Chris Stephens, contrasted with the things he accomplished, demonstrates that appeasing or negotiating with or capitulating to the angry mob is pointless.

President Obama transitioned from Stephens, and the violence in Libya, to the results of the so-called Arab Spring in general. That discussion included numerous specific references to freedom of expression:

And yet the turmoil of recent weeks reminds us that the path to democracy does not end with the casting of a ballot. Nelson Mandela once said: “to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” True democracy demands that citizens cannot be thrown in jail because of what they believe, and businesses can be opened without paying a bribe. It depends on the freedom of citizens to speak their minds and assemble without fear; on the rule of law and due process that guarantees the rights of all people.

This is exactly right — and it's a reference to the fundamental problem of regime-toppling and nation-building. Notions like the rule of law do not magically appear overnight; they are historical and cultural. A nation does not automatically obtain the rule of law or any of its elements (like, in some countries, freedom of expression) just by toppling a dictator.