Ireland Takes Major Stride in Eliminating Freedom of Speech

I am appalled. Ireland passed an incredibly oppressive law making so-called 'blasphemy' a crime. The group Atheist Ireland is publishing 25 notably blasphemous quotes to raise awareness and protest this travesty. I ask you to read this article which describes it better than I can. Here are some of my favorite quotes published:

12. Salman Rushdie, 1990: “The idea of the sacred is quite simply one of the most conservative notions in any culture, because it seeks to turn other ideas – uncertainty, progress, change – into crimes.” In 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie because of blasphemous passages in Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses.

15. George Carlin, 1999: “Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!”

19. Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion, 2006: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” In 2007 Turkish publisher Erol Karaaslan was charged with the crime of insulting believers for publishing a Turkish translation of The God Delusion. He was acquitted in 2008, but another charge was brought in 2009. Karaaslan told the court that “it is a right to criticise religions and beliefs as part of the freedom of thought and expression.”

I Like Freedom of Speech

Today in Phoenix, Arizona a group of neo nazis demonstrated. Of course, there was an even bigger counter-demonstration. Both sides were yelling and screaming their points of view, waving flags, throwing around nazi salutes...

While I in no way sympathize with neo nazis or racists in general, I was less angered by their point of view than I was happy to see extreme freedom of speech in action. Maybe 100 of Phoenix's police officers there, many of whom were sub-human minorities in the apparent view of the neo nazi protesters. The officers were amazingly calm and respectful, while many of them counter protesters were calling them nazis!

Our freedom of speech, our right to offend is so precious. There are a number of things I really love about America, but this probably tops the list. Below is my favorite photo I took of the event, a police officer holding back protesters from the neo nazis.


Neo Nazis in Phoenix 3 by ~firheruwen on deviantART

In the words of Evelyn Beatrice Hall, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it," one of my favorite quotes.