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writing for godot

Saint Anthony Counsels Charlie Hebdo

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Written by William F. Pickard   
Friday, 30 January 2015 08:27
Saint Anthony of Egypt (c. 251-356) counsels Charlie Hebdo

Freedom to proclaim the truth as one sees it frequently is touted as the cornerstone of democracy and a sine qua non of long-lived good government. And it is!

On the other hand, France – though secular – does seem to deploy a bit of Christian-like ethos. So, remembering that Freedom is never free, maybe Charlie should consider a saying ascribed to one of the Desert Fathers. It translates roughly as: “Our life and our death are with our neighbor. If we gain our neighbor, we have gained God; but if we scandalize our neighbor, we have sinned against God.”

Most readers would agree that both Charlie and his neighbor should have equivalent rights to state their views, as long as those views are not narrowly and impartially proscribed by law. In fact, successful societies must have not only free speech but also openness of governance so powerful that data about the society can be accumulated, the chaff transparently winnowed from the wheat, and sensible decisions made. It’s hard to imagine a successful society powering itself indefinitely with disinformation.

With a little imagination, one can even imagine Saint Anthony suggesting to Charlie that it might not be so much the depictions of Muhammad that caused the furor as an ad hominem quality perceived in those depictions. Ad hominem arguments are simply not acceptable in respectable and respectful discussion. You ought not focus upon your neighbor’s foibles and eccentricities. Instead, you ought meticulously to demonstrate the flaws in his data and/or the mistakes in his logic. Your goal should be the triumph of truth rather than either self aggrandizement or the humiliation of your neighbor. Truth is supposed to make us free not contentious.

The assassins who allowed themselves to be provoked did little to win support for their cause. Their resort to the fallacious argumentum ad baculum terminated rational discussion, distracted everyone from any unintentional argumentum ad hominem on Charlie’s part, and raised Charlie to the status of martyr.

In fact, depictions of Muhammad have not always attracted opprobrium. There is an intentionally respectful depiction of Muhammad in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court [ http://moorishamericannationalrepublic.com/moor-news/60-the-18-law-givers-shown-in-the-supreme-court-room-of-the-united-states?format=pdf ]. Moreover, the Taliban has been accused of fostering the present rigid prohibition on likenesses of the Prophet. [ http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/179727/how-images-of-a-prophet-became-%E2%80%98forbidden%E2%80%99 ]. The world around, public opinion would do well to side with the Supremes rather than with the Taliban.



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