Electric Politics | Medieval Rage

Umbrellas Two unrelated but eerily similar events happened last Friday: an insane axe-wielding Somali terrorist tried to kill a Danish cartoonist in Aarhus, for his 2005 lampooning of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Irish state put into effect a draconian blasphemy law, with penalties of up to $35,000, for public insults to religion. In today's world non-negligible forces are clearly at work, on both a large and a small scale, dragging us backwards to a medieval mindset where the expression of innocent opinion must not be allowed if anybody finds it offensive. Conformity to the lowest common denominator rules.

Indeed, in preparing next Friday's podcast — with Jytte Klausen, whose recently published The Cartoons That Shook the World tells the story of the Danish cartoon incident — I had to wonder about the risks of running into insane cartoon terrorists here in Washington DC... But it doesn't pay to act scared.

There's a big difference between ecumenical cultural sensitivity on the one hand and on the other allowing society to be intimidated by religious fanatics. We should be wise enough to tell them apart and intelligent enough to understand that the protection of minority views provides for the future while the protection of fanaticism only enshrines the worst of the past.

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See "Those Terrible Middle Ages," by Regine Pernoud. It will disabuse you of some unnecessary "Enlightenment" prejudices.

[Thanks, Tim — I know you've pointed this out before. ☺ g.]

Posted by: Tim | January 6, 2010 7:53 PM

Or check out Terry Jones' 'Barbarians' (brought to you by the socialistic BBC) who would no doubt make a fascinating interviewee...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Jones%27_Barbarians

[If only. Over the years I've actually sent Terry two requests for an interview but haven't ever heard back. EP is just too small to appear on his radar... Oh well... g.]

Posted by: paul | January 8, 2010 4:44 AM

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Home FAQ Contact Archive EP Store EP Alerts © 2010 ElectricPolitics	Medieval Rage Two unrelated but eerily similar events happened last Friday: an insane axe-wielding Somali terrorist tried to kill a Danish cartoonist in Aarhus, for his 2005 lampooning of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Irish state put into effect a draconian blasphemy law, with penalties of up to $35,000, for public insults to religion. In today's world non-negligible forces are clearly at work, on both a large and a small scale, dragging us backwards to a medieval mindset where the expression of innocent opinion must not be allowed if anybody finds it offensive. Conformity to the lowest common denominator rules. Indeed, in preparing next Friday's podcast — with Jytte Klausen, whose recently published The Cartoons That Shook the World tells the story of the Danish cartoon incident — I had to wonder about the risks of running into insane cartoon terrorists here in Washington DC... But it doesn't pay to act scared. There's a big difference between ecumenical cultural sensitivity on the one hand and on the other allowing society to be intimidated by religious fanatics. We should be wise enough to tell them apart and intelligent enough to understand that the protection of minority views provides for the future while the protection of fanaticism only enshrines the worst of the past. Posted by George Kenney on January 3, 2010 8:48 PM « Peace \| Main \| The Weak Link » Share this post: Comments See "Those Terrible Middle Ages," by Regine Pernoud. It will disabuse you of some unnecessary "Enlightenment" prejudices. [Thanks, Tim — I know you've pointed this out before. ☺ g.] Posted by: Tim \| January 6, 2010 7:53 PM Or check out Terry Jones' 'Barbarians' (brought to you by the socialistic BBC) who would no doubt make a fascinating interviewee... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Jones%27_Barbarians [If only. Over the years I've actually sent Terry two requests for an interview but haven't ever heard back. EP is just too small to appear on his radar... Oh well... g.] Posted by: paul \| January 8, 2010 4:44 AM Leave a comment Name Email Address URL Remember personal info? Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

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