We thought it might be proper to share with our readers David Brooks’ insightful observation in the NY Times about freedom of expression in France as opposed to the good ol’ U.S. of A.:
“The journalists at Charlie Hebdo are now rightly being celebrated as martyrs on behalf of freedom of expression, but let’s face it: If they had tried to publish their satirical newspaper on any American university campus over the last two decades it wouldn’t have lasted 30 seconds. Student and faculty groups would have accused them of hate speech. The administration would have cut financing and shut them down.
“Americans may laud Charlie Hebdo for being brave enough to publish cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Muhammad, but, if Ayaan Hirsi Ali is invited to campus, [and wants to offer a sober critique of Islam] there are often calls to deny her a podium.”