I love Rabbi Daniel Lapin's writings. His book, America's Real War, is a readable look at the conflict in American culture between the people who hold to our Judeo-Christian values and the people who would secularize our country, and I recommend it.
In today's WorldNetDaily, Rabbi Lapin takes a look at the recent conviction of an Austrian for denying the Holocaust happened (news story here). But the broader point he makes is that we risk our freedom of speech completely when we allow ourselves to give the victory to those who are perpetually offended.
Austria has just sentenced an eccentric, obsessed historian to jail for three years because he expressed his opinion that Auschwitz didn't have gas chambers. David Irving violated Austria's law which provides for up to 10 years imprisonment for Holocaust deniers. It is ironic that many of the people cheering this suppression of free speech in Austria are the same people decrying Muslim attempts to do the same in Denmark.
Even on this side of the Atlantic, people are paying a heavy price for expressing their views. Harvard University's president, Lawrence Summers, was just forced to resign, essentially for suggesting that it might be worth studying whether innate differences would explain why fewer women than men succeed in math and science. Professor Alan Dershowitz rightly called the affair an academic coup d'etat.
Of course, I am not suggesting that the Holocaust, Islamic fundamentalism, Harvard University and the New York Post are all equivalent. I am suggesting that the thoughtful among us ought vigorously to oppose all attempts at policing thoughts and beliefs. Freedom of belief and speech is a good idea even if we find some beliefs and speech disgusting.
We've really gone too far (and Europe has gone even farther) in mollycoddling the thin-skinned people most likely to scream.
Punishing people for being offensive – and that is why Irving is being jailed – opens frightening floodgates. There is really no fair reason why Jews should be the only people guaranteed freedom from offense.
How about environmentalists who feel offended by my views on recycling as a meaningless sacrament of secularism? How about feminists who feel offended by a university president's open mindedness? How about American Muslims who feel offended by public celebrations of Israel's Independence Day in Los Angeles? How about employers who feel offended by an employee's Christian faith? Or, for that matter, how about Christians who feel offended by the idea that abortion is a constitutional right?
When we approve of punishing people for speaking their minds when that speech offends an accepted "victim" group, we open ourselves up to future danger. When accepted opinions start shifting, we could be the next ones to be punished.
In America, even kooks have freedom of speech. And there are people out there who see us as the kooks. It's best to make sure that PC laws are dismantled before we find ourselves on the wrong side of them.
Related:
WorldNetDaily reported yesterday that a left-leaning community college student in Massachusetts is in trouble for exercising his free speech rights.
Paul Trost, 20, a student at Massasoit Community College in Brockton, Mass., says he was upset by an introduction of Kennedy given by Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., in which the congressman noted how the long-time senator overcame hardship in life on his way to success.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
"Lynch said Kennedy had overcome such adversity to get to the place he was, and that's a bunch of bull," Trost said of the introduction, which occurred in the school's student center yesterday morning.
Just as Kennedy began speaking, Trost was walking out of the room when he shouted, "Remember Chappaquiddick!"
Trost was told he'd be hearing from school officials about disciplinary action, but he hasn't heard from them yet.
"One of my teachers called me ignorant and told me this was an embarrassment to the school," Trost told WND. "She said to me, 'Can't you forgive him after all these years?' And I said, 'No, he killed somebody.'
"If it had been me or any other person, we'd be in jail," Trost says he told his instructor.
Smart kid.
2 comments:
Sorry for the off-topic and totally trivial remark. But Rabbi Lapin's name hurts my brain. There are very few words that I remember from my high school French, but I do remember that lapin = rabbit, so when I see his name I see "Rabbi Rabbit".
On-topic: Of course Sen. Kennedy had a great number of obstacles to overcome. Do you know how hard it is to have a career in politics after you have not only killed someone, but been tossed out of Harvard for cheating? What a role model for our youth.
Laura,
Don't worry about the trivial remark. Trivia is a big part of the joy in life. I took French it school too, but even though I know lapin = rabbit, I've never put the Rabbi with the Rabbit, so my brain doesn't hurt over it.
Don't forget Sen. Kennedy's obstacle of alcoholism. That'll ruin a political career for sure. And so will his serious case of hypocritical windbag-itis.
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