The Cost Of Silence In The Face Of A Global Islamist Threat

THERE IS NO BROADCAST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS EDITORIAL:

What’s the cost of silence? Ask the Western Media which didn’t have the courage of conviction to publish the Mohamed Cartoons.

The first thing I read in the newspaper this morning, was that the United Nation’s proposal to institute “Blasphemy Rules” was accepted by the European Union, to regulate Freedom of Speech when it comes to religious beliefs because of the Mohamed Cartoons.

Let me say this as emphatically as I possibly can: I TOLD YOU SO!

The Mohamed Cartoons were by all Western standards no big deal. They insulted only those who wanted to be insulted. And they outraged only those who wanted to be outraged and take to the streets to throw rocks and set fires.

And if it is truly more than that: Our problem with Islamists goes far beyond a simple difference of cultures. Which it does.

I and others of my mind-set made it abundantly clear, that apologizing for, and walking away from this Islamist confrontation over Free Speech will come back and haunt us.

It didn’t take much time for this to happen. And that’s no surprise.

Now that Islamists have scored their point in the World Body (UN), comprised of many Islamic nations, and most other nations which have no love for Freedom of the Press or Freedom of Speech; what’s next?

What’s next was the capitulation of the European Union. Javier Solana, the EU Foreign Policy Chief has endorsed this UN policy. But not necessarily for Europe specifically.

In other words, the EU accepts this “Blasphemy Rule” from the UN, but will somehow not force independent EU countries to apply it to their own press. What kind of message is that?

The door to this challenge to Freedom of Speech has now been flung wide open, leaving Leftists and apologists for horrible behavior to argue that it is the fault of the Danish newspaper for starting all of this in the first place.

What comes next from the Islamists?

Will it become illegal to write stories about Arab/Moslem misogyny, and how women throughout the Islamic world are treated like chattel? Will I be called before censors and fined for writing, and/or speaking publicly about the hijab, and the Burka, and how they are nothing more than instruments of subjugation to control women?

Will I be fined for writing of the barbarity of “honor killings”, amputations for stealing, and stoning for infidelity because these are prescribed laws in the minds of the believers of the Koran?

When Islamists and Arab Newspapers publish anti-Semitic cartoons, and hateful stories about Jews, can I respond by putting an ugly face on this Islamic mind-set? Or will I be prosecuted for that as well?

Can I write that Islam, as it is practiced in Saudi Arabia, is a racist religion because it bans all other religions in the “Kingdom”, and specifically forbids Jews entry? What would happen to me if I drew a cartoon that showed this side of Islam?

The Danish Cartoonists and the Danish newspaper had every right to publish the Cartoons, especially since they were absolutely topical and on the money.

And once under attack for expressing their Western RIGHT to Freedom of Speech, EVERY newspaper and broadcast Media on this planet had the OBLIGATION to republish the cartoons, not just to stand in solidarity with the Danish publisher, but rather to stand in solidarity with the RIGHT for all of us to enjoy Freedom of Speech.

In 1978, a Nazi group in full regalia, dressed in Brown Shirts with Black Jackboots, marched in Skokie Illinois with their Swastika flag held high.

Where they wanted to march, was in the midst of a Jewish community where Holocaust survivors lived. There was an outcry of protest against this obscenity.

But outcry or not. After many court challenges and appeals, the US judicial system ruled that the Constitutional RIGHT to express one’s Freedom of Speech, trumped one’s Freedom NOT to be offended.

I ask you what’s more offensive? A few cartoons illustrating a religious icon in a negative light? Or a group of Nazis marching before people who saw their ilk commit the most egregious crimes against them, their families, and their friends.

In the infinite wisdom of the American Judiciary vis a vis the Skokie Nazis, Freedom of Speech was and is the most important RIGHT a country can have.

Without the Democratic and Constitutional Right for every person in a nation to express himself or herself, there is no Democracy – rendering the Constitution meaningless.

In the short and long run: This HUGE victory against Freedom of Speech scored by the Islamists is the fault of a cowardly press, politically correct world leaders, and hypocritical Leftists.

I for one will not be silent. And neither will most Bloggers who take our Freedom of Speech more seriously than the traditional Media phonies, who believe that only they hold the keys to the truth.

Long live Freedom of Speech! LONG LIVE THE INTERNET!