The fact that objectionable material published on the web is invoked to justify murder shows the sad state of affairs in Benghazi and elsewhere in the region. An expression of an opinion, however offensive or blasphemous, is just no justification for murder. In most of the West people are free to insult the head of the Roman Catholic or any other church, presidents of countries, CEOs, entertainers, etc. It is a mark of civilization that insults are not acceptable grounds for violence. The old adage "Sticks and stones, but not words!" applies here perfectly. That is indeed one reason for the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
These perpetrators are barbarians, one has to conclude, and they should be dealt with accordingly, not diplomatically! They should be arrested and charged and due process should be employed in prosecuting them for their acts.
Also, why is there so little discussion about the right of free expression in connection with this story? When American flags used to be burned, liberals all stood up defending the rights of the perpetrators, as they should have. In Skokie, Illinois, the rights of Nazis were defended even though they marched provocatively in Jewish neighborhoods.
But there is very little about the rights of the film makers to make their point with their movie. In a civilized society citizens are free to express even vile opinions and civil libertarians such as the ACLU usually defend their right to do so. Suddenly no word from these civil libertarians. Why?
September 13, 2012
We are delighted to present Lessons in Freedom, essays by Dr. Tibor Machan, for your pleasure.
Dr. Machan holds the R. C. Hoiles Chair in Business Ethics & Free Enterprise at Chapman University's Argyros School of B&E.
Too right, Dr Machan
Duplicitousness I suppose …. Voltaire got it right a long time ago:
“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it”.
Duplicitous, where does one draw the line with lying and deceitfulness?? I wonder if Voltaire would be willing to die for outright dishonesty.. Can you believe anything that comes out of Washington today?? Not from an administration that is instigating “collective control” over its people and has debased the fundamental values of individual rights and freedom.. What ever happened to that “shinning city on the hill”?? The dream that was and now may never be.. VERI TAS..
Ever read Hazlitt’s Time Will Run Back?
Here’s a link to a pdf version at Mises.org
http://library.mises.org/books/Henry%20Hazlitt/Time%20Will%20Run%20Back.pdf
Thanks Rick.. I read Hazlitt many years ago as he was in the forefront opposing aggregate demand management.. His words from the 1950’s now are coming home to roust.. His criticism of Brenton Woods and its inflationary impact has been proven to be correct some fifty years later.. He recognized the barbarians at the gate but not full extent that the barbarians are ourselves..
Where is the accountability?? When a nation has no accountability, there is a void in leadership at the very top.. We must ask ourselves why does the President attend less than forty-five percent of his daily security briefings?? His predecessor we are told never missed a briefing.. Apparent to President Obama, it may just be waste of his time as he is focused totally on his campaign for reelection.. With all the warnings intelligence sources sent to Washington, the President was asleep literally at the command.. The Benghazi terrorist attack, resulting in the death of three Americans, took about four to five hours time to take place.. The American public and for that matter the world deserve a truthful answer as to why no rescue mission was mounted to save these three brave Americans in harms way.. The American Navy was less than an hour away and could have easily attempted a rescue mission which might have save lives at risk..
The White House, the State Department, The Defense Department and CIA were caught with their pants down.. It almost seems that no one cared.. When the President was informed very early in the morning about the attack, he just went back to sleep.. When he awoke in the morning, he was informed that the Ambassador was dead.. No intelligence, no attempted rescue mission and no leadership in this time of crisis..
All we have today is a weak attempted cover up, but the real issue is a void in national leadership and its threat to world stability and peace.. American reputation again is sinking as no one seems to be manning the watch..