Freedom is Not Negotiable, Freedom is not Sensitive

Recently throughout Europe and the Middle East there has been vigorous protests including violence regarding cartoons that depicted Mohammed in an unflattering way. Regardless of the feelings of 1.5 Billion Muslims, regardless of the feelings of
Imams, or Mullahs or Sheiks these newspapers have the right to publish whatever they want to, freedom is Not Negotiable and Freedom is not sensitive.

In the West we have been numbed by Political Correctness. Every system is to be treated equally or so the story goes, every philosophy and religion is to be respected.
While this may be an ideal many hold I hold another idea sacred, Freedom to say and do whatever you want without the fear of death or being silenced.

I write this as a Devout Catholic but I do not have the right to tell a newspaper or poet to not write things that offend me. My job is to respond in a civil and thinking way. My response is not to be violent and my response should be within the law.
Things that I find vile have been said and printed about Jesus, the Pope, Jews, Catholics, Protestants and more I may hate these things but our system protects those who would write such things

Freedom is Not Negotiable.

I am frankly tired of being told that we cannot offend people and speak the truth about a myriad of subjects be they slave labor in China, Islamic terrorism, the state of women's rights in Africa because we might 'offend' the cultures we are criticizing.

I realize that it is not popular but I believe that Western Secular Democracy is superior to these systems. People died from Bunker Hill to Normandy to the Berlin Wall for this ideal and I for one will not dishonor their memories. I believe that the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the International Declaration of Human Rights are more sacred than anyone's feelings.

Freedom is not Sensitive.

In a free society we have a right to make fun of and disparage anyone we want.The political figure has the right to fight back no one has the right to silence these voices not matter how offended they are .

In the end Freedom and Justice under Law must prevail because without these we will slide slowly toward a morass of ignorance and equivocation. Freedom is the birthright of every human being even the freedom to criticize what is sacred to someone else.