Let me state a position at the onset: no freedom is more important than freedom of expression. If there is anything that can keep totalitarianism at bay, it is the right of information to pass among people, and that the expression of that information be given as free a range as possible. If it offends, it offends.
We have two ways of dealing with our differences: dialogue or violence. And if we are to fully exploit dialogue in the avoidance of violence, then its field of expression must be as broad as possible. Whether it's "Piss Christ"--Anthony Serrano's piece that had Christians in a froth--or Mohammed in a bomb turban, or Vishnu giving it in the hindquarters to Buddha, or L. Ron Hubbard licking Zoroaster's teabag, or Larry Flynt's portrayal of Jerry Falwell's fond remembrance of drunken sex with his mother, it is protected speech. Burning the American flag in America is protected. Invoking God's name in vain, or the gods' names in vain is protected. Throwing a pie in Che's face is also protected. In fact, if it offends, all the more reason it needs to be protected, because we don't construct meaningful dialogue on unitary agreement.
Conflict through dialogue, offensive cartoons, skewered saints, brutal satire, mean-spirited diatribes is where it's at. Cluster bomb units, bullets, bludgeons, guillotines, napalm, depleted uranium warheads and the like pale by comparison for really resolving our differences.
Violence is for dummies.
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