Freedom of the press v. good sense

Submitted by Bob Weiss (United States), Feb 10, 2006 at 23:28

I understand the necessity of defending freedom of the press. I understand the hypocrisy of the Islamicists in applauding the vitriol directed in cartoons against Jews while rioting at the publication of the recent "Mohammed "cartoons by a Danish newspaper. I understand the necessity of vigorously fighting the jihadists in their effort to topple western civilization.

What I don't understand is why it was necessary to publish such cartoons in order to establish the freedom of the press principle yet again in a time where there is no shortage of incendiary situations in our world? I had a long conversation with my son yesterday, and he would not accept the premise that all religions should be free from daily attack by cartoonists; that we should not caricature Jesus, Mohammed , Buddha or any manifestation of any religion for the sake of establishing that we can do so.

This is not surrender. It's simply good taste.We should continue to speak out against those who wish us harm. We should continue to fight the war against terror. We should clearly criticize th e use of violence rather than debate. However the introduction of a modicum of sanity in this struggle does not signify an acceptance of defeat but rather a choice of weapons more conducive to victory.

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