The most sacred of all human rights, the right to free speech, is under attack in France.
At the Cannes Film Festival this past May, world-renowned film director Lars von Trier fumbled a Hitler joke at a press conference. This led to a misunderstanding, prompting the press to jump to the conclusion that von Trier is a Nazi sympathizer. Cannes, in an effort to preserve their image of free expression, banished von Trier from the festival.
The irony became even more pervasive, and this petition became necessary, when the French government recently pressed charges against von Trier for violating a law that prohibits the justification of war crimes.
We as Americans, who made the First Amendment first for a reason, petition President Obama to publicly defend von Trier and admonish France.