Twisting Freedom Again

In a time when we are trying to preach the values of freedom to Muslim nations, inviting them into the world chorus of vibrant democracy, Europe does something monumentally stupid and offensive and then tries to defend it as responsible freedom of speech.

Give me a break.

Has the world gone mad? There was once a time when freedom of the press meant that in order to enjoy that freedom, one must exercise good judgment in what was printed. Yes, we have the right and freedom to say and do what we want – but that does not trump responsibility for our actions.

Freedom is not meant to go without responsibility. In other words, just because we can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that we should do it. There was a time when this was universally understood and respected. However, even in those days, people would occasionally cross the line of good taste and offend someone else through their right to say what they please. But in those days, the irresponsible person was often taken to task by his peers – eventually leading to an apology of some sort. This was civil liberty.

These days, with all of the attacks on personal responsibility by Satan and his angels, freedom has become a grossly perverted concept that has given rise to an “everything goes” culture that is utterly bankrupt in decency or taste. Now, one does not need to provide justification to saying what he feels. The freedom of speech is reason enough. Now, people say things because they can – regardless of whether it offers society any redeeming value at all. To question such speech is to question freedom in general.

So in Europe, where morals have been dead for a generation, no one blinks when newspapers print an image that is offensive to a billion people on the planet. Instead of doing the higher thing, and apologizing for crossing the line, the nations of Europe rally behind their perverted notion of freedom. No one has the right to tell them what to print. Responsibility be damned.

This is a tough spot for most freedom-loving people. Americans, including myself, cherish our freedoms more than any other earthly gift. So at first glance, we want to rise to the defense of the European media. But why should we defend such a poor use of freedom? The argument that we should defend their freedom to print what they please “just because” doesn’t amount to anything. The better use of freedom would be for the nations of Europe to apologize. But this won’t happen, and as a result Europe and the west will sink to new lows of journalistic freedom. Because hey, why stop at a few disrespectful images when there are so many other stimulating things to print?

And perhaps the bigger problem to consider is this: why would Muslims even want democracy at all if this is the kind of freedom it stands for? I tell you that they will reject it, and we will have pushed them deeper into a corner because of our own poor uses of liberty. And yes, it is our responsibility. We need to do more if we truly want to reach out to Muslims. We need to show them that sometimes responsibility for our actions is more important than proving a point by printing something offensive just because we can.

Europe must pay the price for its irresponsibility. Of course, I do not condone the burning of embassies as so many Muslims seem to be doing in response. That is a poor choice on their parts, and they will be held accountable as well. But Europe knows better. Europe should be teaching a high lesson. But since Satan has removed the concept of responsibility so that people can act without conscience, the battle lines between good and evil will continue to be drawn and solidified.