The freedom to think before you exercise your freedom to speak

LAST month, Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris drew a fictional poster in response to what she felt was an impediment on First Amendment rights.

After creators of the show "South Park" received threats from a radical Islamic group for portraying the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit, Comedy Central censored the next episode.

Norris and everyone else certainly have the right to say whatever they please about Muhammad, but it does not necessarily mean they should.

The poster depicted the prophet in common images, like a cup of coffee and a spool of thread, which many Muslims would find inappropriate.

The Seattleite did not expect her drawing to attract such a huge response, and later apologized, recognizing her cartoon was offensive to moderate Muslims who took no part in threatening Americans' First Amendment rights.

Two students in Europe took her idea a step further, though, and created a Facebook page titled "Everybody Draw Mohammad Day!" asking fans to submit their own drawings of the prophet on May 20.

The page had quite the response, with well over 100,000 followers, and has elicited a reaction from an outraged Pakistani government, which ordered Facebook be banned until the end of May.

Many who participated in the satirical event wanted to inform Islamic groups who are threatening to obstruct free speech that they are not afraid of them. But sometimes, we should be concerned.

An alleged al-Qaida militant detained in Iraq recently said in an interview he had discussed attacking the Danish and Dutch teams and their fans next month at the World Cup to get revenge for defamation of the prophet.

The right to free speech should be exercised vigorously. But it often is more effective when thoughtful.