I find myself, although totally distressed by the wanton killings that have taken place in Paris, VERY unenthusiastic about the now popular cause FOR unbridled satire that has identified itself under the Je Suis Charlie label. Satire that finds no image too distasteful, nor any desecration too over the top... satire that thirsts for the unholy thrust that will provoke the fury that will predictably erupt in the sorts of events we are watching unfold now, is not something I have an understanding of nor do I have a taste for it.... On the other hand, I value freedom of speech and I believe there are far too many limits on it now in the U.S. But werent we all taught as kids that with every freedom there comes a responsibility? Didnt we teach our own kids that when they had earned the right to the keys to a car, they had to be safe, sober drivers? I am sorry that the people at Charlie Hebdo were massacred so cruelly and I ABSOLUTELY KNOW that they did NOT deserve what happened to them. But I also know that in our world today it is important to understand what the consequences ARE for the abuses of the freedoms that we still have, and the very people who are the professional speakers to the rest of us, DO HAVE a responsibility, I believe, to do so in a balanced and free but NOT purposely provocative way
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 00:17:45 +0000