In the following article, Hilden explores the importance of parody and free speech in public discourse.

Stephen Colbert's April 30th keynote address to the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner continues to spark commentary even now, more than a week later—with the video and the transcript still widely circulated on the Internet. Why?

Clips of Stephen Colbert delivering his speech at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner are widely available on the Internet, and the C-SPAN network sells a DVD of the Dinner at www.c-spanarchives.org/shop and through other websites.

One reason the story has had "legs," it seems, is the contention that Colbert crossed an invisible line, and the retort that either such a line shouldn't exist, or that Colbert was entitled to cross it. (For those unfamiliar with Colbert, he's the satirical host of "The Colbert Report"—a parody of a pundit show...