On Journalism, Blasphemy, and Free Speech
I've been asked my opinion on the ideas surrounding the tragedy in Paris....
Free speech serves the greater good. That is why I support the legality of Martin Rowson’s right to mock my faith, which he has very publicly been doing. Still, I don’t have to sit back and take it—I can use non-violent means to argue. I can blog about it. I can say I disagree. I could even go picket his publication. Or mock him in a cartoon.
Trying to convince him of the superiority of my faith by using bullets would be a ridiculous approach. (Still, I think ISIS will come out ahead on this, because more people will circulate the blasphemous cartoons, and thus convince more moderate Muslims that they live in an evil context that must be opposed.)
I believe in free speech. It is the standard to which I subscribe, which means allowing people in the culture at large to blaspheme without killing them. I also support the right of people to cuss me out. But that does not mean they are obligated or correct to do so. It means only that laws disallowing them from doing so would do the public a disservice. Images of police hauling off people who speak against what I believe is not the way to convince anyone of what I believe. Having the freedom to speak about the glories of Christ means also allowing others to say the opposite. If I want to have freedom, I have to allow for others to have the same. Do unto others....
That said, I agree with the atheist journalist who wisely pointed out that there is a line between blasphemy and satire. Good journalists responsibly discern the difference. Blasphemy is a form of religious discrimination, distressing people unnecessarily to no good end. Satire is a form of challenge, of protest, designed to make people think. The former destroys; the latter can improve society.
I pretty much agree with Ross Douthat, the New York Times columnist, on this issue.
As a post script, I must add that some of those interviewed are saying the job of a journalist is getting harder. And indeed, it is. But it is also getting harder in many places to speak freely as a Christian. According to Open Doors, 4,344 Christians were reported to have been killed in 2014—more than double the 2,123 killed in 2013, and more than triple the 1,201 killed the year before that. Talk about violation of free speech! Cartoonists are not the only ones suffering at the hands of extremists.