Express Yourself!

It is not a sign of a civilized society when organizations or individuals act simply because they can.  We are a civilized society because we understand power dynamics and show restraint.  We are a civilized society because we watch out for the underprivileged.   We feed the hungry.  Well, we used to.  We like to think of ourselves as doing so.  Many Muslim nations are not as materialistic as many Christian  nations are.  We are often viewed as greedy bullies, stomping on poorer nations and imposing our &quot;values&quot; (or more accurately our economic structure)on them.  So when the newspapers of Denmark, Italy, France, Germany, and the Netherlands <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4670370.stm">cry &quot;freedom of the press</a>&quot; in regards to their portrayal of the prophet Mohammad as a terrorist, it rings hollow.  Especially for France's Soir to publish these images, given France's national intolerance for Muslim culture as expressed through their ban of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/30/world/main639381.shtml">headscarves in schools</a>, it seems like a taunt.   We should fight for &quot;freedom of the press&quot; only to defend words that illuminate oppression and defend the oppressed, not to further empower the powerful.   The powerful already have a significant voice.   I am ashamed that anyone would cry &quot;freedom of the press&quot; to unfavorably portray a Muslim prophet. Pick on someone your own size!

This entry was posted on February 13, 2006 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Press Freedom . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.