A clutch of US politicians, pastors and other assorted Bible thumpers have shown us, again and again, that Christian fundamentalists are fundamentally unchristian in their attitudes. But not all fundamentalists, Christian, Muslim or Jewish, condone violence.
However, the tragic events in Norway last week once again raise the issue of freedom of expression. The extremism in one man’s word can very easily be translated into extremism in another man’s deed. When does one person’s right to express himself freely, impinge on another person’s right not to be insulted or assaulted by such outpourings.
The advent of the Internet and the ease and speed with which hate is disseminated means that this issue needs to be addressed urgently. Laws of the 19th and 20th centuries cannot be used to regulate technologies of the 21st century.
The right to unlimited free speech must be balanced with the duty to speak and act responsibly. A person who incites hatred should be considered as culpable as the fanatic who pulls the trigger, or detonates the bomb. In today’s stressed out world there are too many crazed people out there, with too many weapons, for this kind of catastrophe not to occur again and again.
Let us start by condemning all violence unequivocally: whether it is by a lone lunatic or by states against their people.
We cannot have one standard for the Syrian and another for the Bahraini.
(Published in The Independent, U.K., 28 July 2011)
Wow Laos 