[MD] Barbarian attack

[Platt Holden]

Hi Robert W.

I appreciate what you say about the limits of free speech, but I would 
suggest that there are also limits to reactions to what some consider 
to be offensive. What possible justification can a civilized human 
being find for the killing (so far) of 45 people worldwide over a 
cartoon? I can think of none, especially when those who claim to be 
offended routinely blaspheme Jews in a manner reminiscent of Nazi 
Germany. 

I wish we could avoid conflicts by shouting "tolerance" to those 
dedicated to our destruction. But just as pleas for compassion failed 
to deter the attack of 9/11, I know of no words that will stop the 
forces of evil. As Pirsig said, "Only social patterns can control 
biological patterns, and the instrument of conversation between society 
and biology is not words. The instrument of conversation between 
society and biology has always been a policeman or a soldier and his 
gun." (Lila, 24)    

Platt


> Hi Platt;
> 
> The Supreme Court pointed out that there are limits to free speech. It's
> not acceptable, for instance,  to shout "fire" in a crowded theater when
> there is no fire.  People may get trampled.   It's clear then that
> speech can have negative consequences. It is not, nor has it ever been
> legal in America to use speech to incite a riot.  Again, the Supreme
> Court used the term "fighting words" to describe speech whose purpose
> was to provoke a violent response.
> 
> History bares out that people who have the right to speak freely against
> social ills tend to use that avenue to bring about change without
> resorting to violence.  It functions as a pressure valve, but this is
> usually a conversation between the government and the governed, not
> between groups in society.
> 
> While the government is charged with the responsibility to protect free
> speech, it is also charged with keeping the peace.
> 
> I don't see the 'moral relativism' and the resulting 'death of western
> culture'  in this.  That's a bit of hyperbole.
> 
> What I do see is that instant communications has suddenly brought all
> cultures together and "tolerance" shouted on a crowded planet is less
> likely to "incite violence" than words like "barbarians".
> 
> 
> Robert W.