We received an email the other day from Patrick Vidaud in London. He’s trying to organize a march for the support of free expression in Britain.I am canvassing individuals and organisations to gather support for a march in London some time soon in defence of freedom of expression. I do not represent anyone other than myself. I am concerned, as no doubt are many others, that fear, dressed up as sensitivity, may tempt some in power to allow our most precious right to be circumscribed, to be eroded. We need to stand up, be counted and be seen.
The strength and survival of true democracy depends most of all on the free expression of ideas. All ideas. There cannot be any compromise on this. As Voltaire said to one of his foes “I despise your views but I am prepared to die for your right to express them”.
I am proposing the usual; a march on a weekend day from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. Would you give your support to such a demonstration?
Patrick Vidaud, London.
To our UK readers: if you want to help out, email Mr. Vidaud at marchforfreespeech@googlemail.com. His blog is marchforfreeexpression.blogspot.com.
He also asked us, “And, while we’re at it, how about a corresponding US march?”
Well, how about it? Or do we have to wait until raging mobs torch our embassies about cartoons in our papers?
Oh, that’s right — none of the major dailies in this country has printed the cartoons yet…
2 comments:
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. You've maybe seen the photo at Jihad Watch of the cartoon protestor with the sign that says, "Freedom of expression is western terrorism" - now that needs to be made into a T-shirt and sold by the thousands. It says it all.
chsw10605, the dog-sex cartoon was not one of the 12 published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper. It was one of three 'cartoons' that the Danish imams showed around in their tour of the Middle East to rouse anger at Denmark.
Jeffery Hodges
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