Denying Free Speech
The link in the previous post, incidentally, is to a column entitled, "Threaten One, Intimidate a Million." The inference is obvious: The West's "multi-cultural" acceptance of Islam is threatening everyone's civil rights. My reader in the last post wanted to be kept anonymous because her husband fears Muslim reprisals.
The Democrats are mad about President Bush's wire taps, and perhaps they should be (I express no opinion). But I'll tell you this: Fear of Muslim assassination has chilled speech far (far, far) more than any presidential wiretap. I realize there's a philosophical difference between lawless individuals taking away our freedoms and the government doing it, but as a practical matter, the Muslims are doing it much more effectively than the president's wire taps.
At some point, an open society must close itself, or at least part of itself, to preserve most of its openness.
If there's a car wreck, they shut down the freeway for awhile. If they don't, the wreck will just get worse as cars from behind slam into the mess. The act of shutting down the freeway isn't an act of oppression against the freeway or those who use it. It's an effort to preserve the freeway.
