 Quote: |
Originally Posted by Katczinsky The way I view this, is that there are indeed times and things to be serious about. But there is absolutely no time where freedom of speech should be surpressed. I think the western world, and the artists of the cartoons should be highly recremended to not be so...offending. Yet at the same time, there shouldn't be laws to supress other's thoughts on Islam, no matter how radical they may be. Doing so would be defeating the purpose on an idea-war that is supposed to be spreading ideas of democracy and personal liberty. Doing so would make us what we were fighting in the first place.
The radical clerics in the middle east would love to see a decline in western political and religious toleration. We wouldn't be helping the situation any by lessening people's personal liberties. But how to fix the situation in the Middle East is a different debate all together, one that must take into account of all past and present aggressions by both sides. A blood-fued locked into anger for thousands of years. Killing only feeds the anger. Peace can only be brought by understanding. | I think you just bought the Bush-bait, hook, line, and sinker.
What are we fighting for in the Middle East? That question can be answered by a lot of things, but freedom of speech isn't one of them.
Most clerics probably don't care about policy towards freedom of speech in America, any more than you'd care about the punishment for cheating on taxes is in Dubai. This is a new conflict, no matter what people will push at you. When I say new, I mean new in the context of colonialism. This isn't thousands of years old. The crusades? Please.
This cartoon war is just rediculous. A Danish cartoon insults the Prophet Mohammed, so Iranian newspapers decide to make cartoons about... The Holocaust? Yeah, I guess they're insulting all of those Jewish Danish cartoonists. 
If this is a "war of ideas" it's far from constructive.
I won't deny that freedom of speech and understanding are fundamental. I will, however, deny that the way you presented them is even relevant to this debate. |