Thursday, January 08, 2015

Quote of the Day: Charlie Hebdo

Time to repeat this fundamental point:
... it is vitally important to resist the impulse–so common among “responsible” institutions, whether foreign ministries or large newspapers–at a time like this to somehow imply that the victims brought their fate upon themselves and that the best line of defense against such attacks is to practice greater self-restraint in the future. ... That is giving the terrorists precisely what they want, indeed the very reason they carry out such attacks is to deter others from similar mockery in the future.

The right to offend is the very essence of free speech–and as long as a publication doesn’t incite violence (which neither Charlie Hebdo nor The Interview did) its right to say whatever it likes must be defended to the last inch.  That is, after all, the very bedrock of freedom upon which Western democracies rest–and the very opposite of the kind of totalitarian state that Islamists have created in Iran and a large chunk of Syria/Iraq.

1 comment:

H. M. Stuart said...

Minerva,

I'd like to invite you to join us as an author in Alexandria, either as an occasional guest author or as a fully privileged Resident Author. I had tried to email you, but it bounced.

www aleksandreia com

Alexandria might also be the perfect place in which to write about issues and interests which may not yet be an ideal fit for your current blog.

If you think you might be interested in becoming a Resident Author, let me know and I'll forward our formal invitations for you to look over and return, if you decide to proceed.

I look forward to hearing from you.