The Importance of Freedom of Speech

“If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.” ~Noam Chomsky

~~~~~

I have a particular fascination with people with whom I completely don't agree. I can listen to them for hours, watch their shows and work to analyze and understand why they believe the way they do. I do this with a honest intent to see things from another point of view.

I have a strong passion for my own beliefs and this leads me to have a strong passion to defend others' beliefs, whether or not they reflect my own.

I know not all people approach life this way or understand this approach, but I see this as a way to help me understand the utmost importance of the freedom of expression.

Which brings me to South Park. I love South Park. I don't always feel comfortable when I watch South Park, but that's not the point. The point is to watch and understand the underlying message, which sometimes is about how humanity allows certain words and images to dig at them, even when the outlying consequences are minimal.

I have no issue with South Park depicting Muhammed, because that is their interpretation of something. I'm not particularly offended by images of Muhammed or any other prophet, mainly because such things have no meaning to me.

The people from whom Muhammed came were people who worshipped images. It is understandable, then, that in order to help those who chose to begin to worship a different concept of God to whom an image was not ascribed, a tradition developed to prevent depiction of the prophet who brought that particular concept of God to that group of people. Would such a tradition apply to all people for all time...no...because depending on many different aspects of differing groups of people, images might or might not have the same significance.

If having a depiction of a prophet prevents a person from connecting with their spiritual path, then removing those depictions would be important to that individual. However, the expectation for everyone to do the same because of a particular individual is extreme. The individual has the opportunity and power to ignore such an image or, if the individual is worried about others' reactions, could move to present another approach to the subject.

I worry about Comedy Central's decision to censor South Park. I hope there were other, non-public reasons for the decision. I hope the decision was truly not derived from actual fear from violence threatened by RevolutionMuslim.com. Fear, after all, has been the sponsor of too many terrible things and has caused people not to stand up and have a voice when literal lives were on the line...I'm thinking Holocaust proportions here...yes, it has the potential to be that bad.

What's the worse that can happen if we choose to stand up for our beliefs? We could die. That's not an ideal consequence, but for freedom, I know many willing to take that chance, including myself. It's that important...really.

I hope, hope with all my heart, that Americans will continue to remember that the freedoms we enjoy are definitely worth moving through any kind of threats...even those that might be real and might cost lives. The consequence of not defending such freedoms is a shell of a life lived in fear and darkness.

Keep strong.

Kelly
blog@americanislamicfellowship.com
www.americanislamicfellowship.com