Freedom of Expression
The West embraces freedom, because freedom makes the West powerful. Being free is also a nice thing to be, but that is secondary.Freedom to do anything we please allows for innovation and experimentation - the two things that drive growth. There is no one to say what is wrong, no G*d to appease. If it works use it, because if you don't then someone else will.
If we limit ourselves then we will be surpassed. And who wants to live as one of a losing culture. Respecting others beliefs is a good thing to do so we can sell stuff. Respecting others cultures by limiting ourselves is suicidal.
The Islamic religion is too all pervasive and strict. It limits the Muslims to being less than they can be. The most successful Muslim nations are in India and Malaysia and the West, where they are free to make their own choices.
We should always apologise for Danish Cartoons and the like, because it will help us sell stuff. However we should never, ever mean it.
posted by unaha-closp @ 1:13 PM
3 Comments:
Although I agree with you, India is not a muslim nation. The muslims could not be persuaded to share a nation with India and had to have their own. They are essentially no different then those american xtians who want their kind to move to South Carolina so they may found a state based on biblical law. Where they will immediately outlaw sodomy and masturbation, as other people's sex lives are certainly that which upsets them the most.
I don't require being on the winning team, but certainly a team that is ascending, not descending. Currently we seem to be descending.
Salaam Alaikum:
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Ya Haqq,
Irving
A very pertinent observation, and one that's been entirely missed by most commentators and media outlets.
I think a common western reaction may be 'yes, it is nice to be able to do x, y, and z, and to watch/read/listen to satire etc, but it's not that important, not worth making a fuss about.
I agree with you that this is a huge mistake - one commonly made in response to hard-to-understand threats. Restricting freedoms for whatever reason (increased security, not wanting to cause offence...) weakens our society. And weak societies lose out to stronger ones in the end (collapse of eastern bloc Communism is a classic example - without free market, liberal Europe, N. America et al, the corrupt, moribund soviet bloc could have continued indefinitely.
PS Surely U-C was more than a minor figure in the novel: without it, most of the main protagonists would have died at one pointy or another.
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