The Missing Link

February 01, 2006

The Danish Cartoon Affair

Peaktalk has thoughts on the Danish cartoon controversy:

Our culture has accepted the notion that there is nothing wrong in using whatever means to argue that the dogmas and teachings of Jesus Christ are morally corrupt. Freedom of expression, fine, although we can discuss matters of good taste when it comes to Andres Serrano's now infamous depiction of Christ. Still, that assertion has somehow been accompanied by the argument that it is simply not acceptable to apply any criticism or ridicule to any other religion, most notably the one that finds itself increasingly in the spotlight of recent intellectual and public scrutiny. I leave it to your imagination if Serrano’s original work was somehow amended with another deity taking Christ’s place. I guess we would not be debating freedom of expression or who funded it, we would probably be debating something completely different.

Again, the ability to apply criticism and ridicule are the basic rights of anyone living in a western democracy. As a society we should expect citizens and artists alike to apply a measure of good taste. It is very hard to argue that the Jyllands-Posten's cartoons were offensive, but a case could be made that Serrano's "Piss Christ" was testing the limits of that somewhat arbitrary 'taste measure'. But we didn't kill Serrano, we didn't destroy his career, we didn't ask him for damages and a rectification, no, we debated it and we are still debating it today, twenty years on. That's freedom, that's democracy.

Indeed. Over at Instapundit insightful and concise blogger Glenn Reynolds notes:

The lesson is that if you want your religion not to be mocked, it helps to have a reputation for senseless violence. Is this the incentive structure we want?

It isn't the incentive structure Western democracies ought to want, and it's not what moderate Muslims the world over want either. It's time to remember our core belief that certain rights, including freedom of expression, are universal and inalienable.

Posted by Conor at February 1, 2006 10:29 AM