tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post4384056593332762283..comments2023-10-09T04:11:47.358-07:00Comments on Not A Potted Plant: The Real VillainsBurt Likkohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16060980744675990412noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-33349163643867299302010-11-12T09:29:21.306-08:002010-11-12T09:29:21.306-08:00(Clumsy editing in that last paragraph, sorry.)(Clumsy editing in that last paragraph, sorry.)Burt Likkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16060980744675990412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-67341196843435986682010-11-12T09:28:20.314-08:002010-11-12T09:28:20.314-08:00Dan, to those whose vision of the "American i...Dan, to those whose vision of the "American idea" places little premium on the concept of individual freedoms, DFW's column is nothing more pusilanimous and futile hand-wringing by a snobby liberal. For them, a culture and a government that values free speech is not nearly so important as a government that fosters and encourages a particular shared cultural ideal, so condemnation and prohibition of a disfavored religion (Islam) goes hand in hand with the government's primary mission of protecting our collective national identity. I do not see this as an evil motive, but I do not share it because I do not think the government's job is to protect our collective culture.<br /><br />I find DFW's thought experiment very intellectually challenging because I have always taken it as an article of faith that the choice between liberty and security is, in our era of advanced technology and great wealth, a false one. Wallace forces the issue: what if it isn't; what if, ultimately, we have to choose? It is evident what choice the Founders would have made -- they were willing to spill blood for the cause of freedom. I would argue that we should live up to their example rather than give in to the seductive temptation of security obtained through authoritarianism, if only because authoritarian regimes are also demonstrably subject to periodic acts of violence at the hands of criminals (or "terrorists," if you prefer that term).<br /><br />Kaz, I think your nation there is, or ought to be based on recent events, experiencing a heightened awareness of the importance of free speech as a civic value; libel reform is one of many signs of this. Those who worry about "Islamisation" should embrace that ethic. Good luck to you and your fellow Brits in that and know that there are many here in the States who are cheering you on.Burt Likkohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16060980744675990412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-33237434980052402082010-11-12T08:42:32.533-08:002010-11-12T08:42:32.533-08:00Don't know if you've seen this, but it see...Don't know if you've seen this, but it seemed in keeping with your broad points in this post:<br />http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/11/just-asking/6288/Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11213051268392108382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13589532.post-21731789610344651082010-11-12T03:56:59.377-08:002010-11-12T03:56:59.377-08:00I think one of the lessons I learned while in conv...I think one of the lessons I learned while in conversations about religion, etc., is that wherever you go: people are people. Outside of the odd loony, most people act within a particular point on the bell curve.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, there are serious institutional wrongs that occur. For example, the inaugural post on my blog talked about a law in Mauritania, where the law is based on Sharia, that states that if a woman that is raped falls pregnant, then it wasn't really rape, because their 'holy' book says pregnancy can only occur in a consensual relationship.<br /><br />So the women end up jailed for adultery instead.<br /><br />However, that didn't lead me to conclude that all Mauritanians were evil, just that basing laws on a thousand year old book allegedly written mostly by a warlord with little knowledge of anything is most likely wrong. I think the US got that one right: laws should be decided for secular reasons alone.<br /><br />Islam as an institution has some serious problems in that regard, but individual Muslims <i>tend</i> to be people, just like other people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com