A Very Brief Comment on the Benghazi Murders
TIbor R. Machan
But there is very little about the rights of the film makers to make their point with their movie. In a civilized society citizens are free to express even vile opinions and civil libertarians such as the ACLU usually defend their right to do so. Suddenly no word from these civil libertarians. Why?
TIbor R. Machan
The
fact that objectionable material published on the web is invoked to
justify murder shows the sad state of affairs in Benghazi and elsewhere
in the region. An expression of an opinion, however offensive or blasphemous, is just
no justification for murder. In most of the West people are free to
insult the head of the Roman Catholic or any other church, presidents of
countries, CEOs, entertainers, etc. It is a mark of civilization that
insults are not acceptable grounds for violence. The old adage "Sticks
and stones, but not words!" applies here perfectly. That is indeed one
reason for the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
These
perpetrators are barbarians, one has to conclude, and they should be
dealt with accordingly, not diplomatically! They should be arrested and
charged and due process should be employed in prosecuting them for their
acts.
Also,
why is there so little discussion about the right of free expression in
connection with this story? When American flags used to be burned,
liberals all stood up defending the rights of the perpetrators, as they
should have. In Skokie, Illinois, the rights of Nazis were defended
even though they marched provocatively in Jewish neighborhoods.
But there is very little about the rights of the film makers to make their point with their movie. In a civilized society citizens are free to express even vile opinions and civil libertarians such as the ACLU usually defend their right to do so. Suddenly no word from these civil libertarians. Why?
No comments:
Post a Comment