Paris Shootings - January 7, 2015

Twelve human beings were killed in Paris yesterday.  They were killed for speaking their minds openly.  In the aftermath, "Je suis Charlie" has become the rallying cry for journalists throughout the world: "I am Charlie".

Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of Democracy.  When human beings are muzzled, tyranny takes over.

And yet, what is Freedom?  Does it come with no responsibility, no consequences?

Be clear, no one deserves to be killed for one's words!  No one deserves to be persecuted for one's words (or cartoons in this case)!

In turn, I believe that with every right comes a responsibility.  I live in a world peopled by seven billion other human beings.  I am not alone.  What I say and do matters.  Everyday, somewhere, a politician is called to task for something he or she said.  He/she can continue to say the perceived offensive words, or he/she can desist.  The consequences may well decide his/her political future.  By calling these individuals to task no one has denied them the right to speak, but it has also made clear that with this right comes another one, equally sacred, that of rebuttal. Those who understand the complexity of our world will respond in such circumstances with integrity and courage.  Others, a small minority of our world, will not.  Paris is but one example of the deep, polarizing anger simmering in many parts of our world, angry individuals who need very little to set them on a course of utter destruction.

The questions begging for audience during this awful time are these: Do we continue to speak our minds without thought of what we are saying and how it is being portrayed, or do take pause to consider the outcome.  Do our comments make the world better?  Safer?  More humane?  Are we the only ones who may be put in harm's way by our actions?

"No man is an island.  No man stands alone."  As the song says.

There are many ways to stand up for human rights.  For justice.  For tolerance.  To stand against poverty. Isolation. Hatred.  Misunderstanding between cultures.  Any of which could provoke a similar outcome.  It is not that we should not speak our mind, it is that we should do so with the outcome in mind.

It is true that freedom of speech cannot be abridged in an open society, but Freedom is not the right to do anything we want any time we want.  Each person with that right is tasked to use it responsibly.

We create the world in which we live.  Within that world, each of us holds certain things dear.  If nothing is sacred.  If everything is open to assault, then are we really free?  Should we really be targeting the Prophet, the Koran, Islam, Moslems?  Is it not the radical and angry individual who causes wars, panic and death?

I absolutely condemn the actions of the gunmen in Paris!  But this conversation cannot be one-sided.

Why does terrorism persist?  What are its roots causes?  Do we really believe that killing or maligning the problem, by whatever means, will make it go away?

There has to be more!  There must be more!