Muslim Violence

Sometimes, well often, I don't understand.  How can thousands and thousands of people riot, violently riot, killing hundreds, over a cartoon or film or speech because it supposedly insults their religion's founder?  Would that religion's founder be more concerned with the insults or with the killings?  And, don't the Muslims ever think about that?  Most of those killed aren't the Americans they purportedly hate so much; the dead are other Muslims.

I wonder if unemployment is that high in these countries that so many thousands of people can take to the streets so often.  After all, people who go to work don't riot, do they?  (Idle hands do the work of the devil?)

Of course the hate-film that showed up online wasn't the cause of the riots and violence.  It was merely the excuse.  There's always an excuse handy for those who exploit Islam.

Equally troublesome and incomprehensible are reactions in the US and other Western nations.  Why do we continue to send millions and billions of dollars to these countries that obviously hate us?  It would be one thing if our money went to the people who need it.  But my guess it goes to the leaders, who snatch it up for themselves and to ensure their own power.  It goes to building armies and weapons to use against, if not the US directly (although the attacks on our embassies might be considered such), then our only allies in the region.  So, isn't it stupid to keep sending these people (the leaders) more and more millions and billions of dollars?  I don't understand and no doubt Presidents and State Departments have their reasons (excuses? and note I used the plurals there!), but I still don't understand. 

And, something I understand even less, why are the US and other Western nations seeking to crack down on freedom of expression?  The American gov't is investigating the film's "producer," if a You Tube film has a "producer."  He's been questioned.  Why?  Have we ditched the First Amendment?  Or, as seems to be increasingly the case, does the First Amendment only protect ideas we don't find offensive?  What happened to the principle of letting ideas succeed or fail on their own merits?  (Obviously, Muslim/Islamic nations have no such principle.  They haven't yet, if indeed they ever will, embraced the ideas of the Enlightenment.  I have serious doubts they will any time soon, if ever, due to the exclusive nature of the Quran.)  Is it Germany seeking to ban anti-Muslim films, writings, cartoon, speech, etc. citing "national security?"  What was it Lincoln retorted when some of his advisers urged him to cancel the 1864 Presidential election, citing exigencies of the Civil War?  If we did we'd go a long way to losing....  (I don't recall the exact words.  I'm losing my powers of recall!)

I don't understand, both the Muslim world and our own politicians.