Jihad Against Free Speech Gains Ground As Europe Cowers
The government of Sweden surrendered to Islamist threats today as did the chief law-enforcement agency in the United Kingdom.
In Sweden, the government intervened with a web-server that hosting an on-line magazine for a "far right" political party that was displaying the infamous Danish Cartoons. After consultation, the server "pulled the plug" on the magazine, effectively shutting it down. According to BBC, "It is believed to be the first time a Western government has intervened to block a publication in the growing row."
Meanwhile, in England, the political magazine the Liberal followed the lead of the Spectator in posting one of the cartoons on its website. alongside an editorial calling for free speech.
The Guardian reports that,
Dear friends of liberty, this is nothing short of international blackmail of the most sinister kind. "Do what we say or we will kill you."
And Scotland Yard cries, "Run away! Run away! Run away!" in perfect imitation of Monty Python.
When law enforcement tells its citizenry that it cannot guarantee their safety when engaged in lawful activity then something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
FDR said that, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Today, in England and in Sweden, folks are so afraid of fear that they seem willing to sell their liberty for a mess of pottage.
Where are the world's leaders? Where are the heroes and heroines willing to lay down their physical and political lives for the cause of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and Western Civilization!
Stand up, you cowards! The gauntlet has been thrown down. You have been slapped in the face. You have been challenged to a duel of honor and you hide, and tremble in fear.
What are you hoping to achieve by your condescention? The enemy has sworn to kill and destroy everything that we have spent a thousand years building and defending with the sweat and blood of true martyrs for freedom. Whether cartoons are published or not; Whether words of defiance are uttered or not; Whether apologies are made or not; Whether you wave a white flag or not; Whether you up take up the challenge and defiantly resist this new "Black Plague" or not; the enemy will not cease to attack until it either achieves its oppressive and evil goals or is resisted and defeated in a battle to the death.
This is no time for a negotiating table. This is no time to wait for the United Nations. This is no time for diplomacy. This is the time for you to take a stand, to fish or cut bait, to pay up or shut up, to "play the man" or, if you are unable or unwilling to do any of this, have the good grace and integrity to resign in disgrace.
The world has turned into a house of cards. All the rhetoric...all the high and mighty idealism...all the snobbish superiority or the ivory-tower elite...all the denial of God's revealed truth that unregenerated humanity is ruled by sin...all the lies concerning humanity's natural and eternal progress towards love, peace and perfection...is crashing down like the the towers of the World Trade Center.
When the dust settles there will remain two adversaries: Those who love the justice, mercy and humility of God and those whose god exults in the blood of those who do not agree with his followers.
One side is willing to sacrifice their lives to get what they want. Those on the other side, the side of freedom and liberty, of human respect and decency, of peace and love, must be equally willing to give their lives if they are to survive.
Yes, it has now come to that: A Fight For Survival.
At the moment the "other side" is winning.
Our side needs heroes and heroines to take a stand.
Where are they?
Update: A Pakistani commentator confirms my perceptions when he writes:
In Sweden, the government intervened with a web-server that hosting an on-line magazine for a "far right" political party that was displaying the infamous Danish Cartoons. After consultation, the server "pulled the plug" on the magazine, effectively shutting it down. According to BBC, "It is believed to be the first time a Western government has intervened to block a publication in the growing row."
Meanwhile, in England, the political magazine the Liberal followed the lead of the Spectator in posting one of the cartoons on its website. alongside an editorial calling for free speech.
The Guardian reports that,
Senior police officers at Scotland Yard warned the magazine its staff could not be guaranteed protection from possible protests, after which the cartoon was pulled from the Liberal’s website and replaced by a large white square with the word “censored” placed over it.After the cartoon's removal the magazine's editor said that they had pulled it "for reasons of safety."
Dear friends of liberty, this is nothing short of international blackmail of the most sinister kind. "Do what we say or we will kill you."
And Scotland Yard cries, "Run away! Run away! Run away!" in perfect imitation of Monty Python.
When law enforcement tells its citizenry that it cannot guarantee their safety when engaged in lawful activity then something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
FDR said that, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Today, in England and in Sweden, folks are so afraid of fear that they seem willing to sell their liberty for a mess of pottage.
Where are the world's leaders? Where are the heroes and heroines willing to lay down their physical and political lives for the cause of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and Western Civilization!
Stand up, you cowards! The gauntlet has been thrown down. You have been slapped in the face. You have been challenged to a duel of honor and you hide, and tremble in fear.
What are you hoping to achieve by your condescention? The enemy has sworn to kill and destroy everything that we have spent a thousand years building and defending with the sweat and blood of true martyrs for freedom. Whether cartoons are published or not; Whether words of defiance are uttered or not; Whether apologies are made or not; Whether you wave a white flag or not; Whether you up take up the challenge and defiantly resist this new "Black Plague" or not; the enemy will not cease to attack until it either achieves its oppressive and evil goals or is resisted and defeated in a battle to the death.
This is no time for a negotiating table. This is no time to wait for the United Nations. This is no time for diplomacy. This is the time for you to take a stand, to fish or cut bait, to pay up or shut up, to "play the man" or, if you are unable or unwilling to do any of this, have the good grace and integrity to resign in disgrace.
The world has turned into a house of cards. All the rhetoric...all the high and mighty idealism...all the snobbish superiority or the ivory-tower elite...all the denial of God's revealed truth that unregenerated humanity is ruled by sin...all the lies concerning humanity's natural and eternal progress towards love, peace and perfection...is crashing down like the the towers of the World Trade Center.
When the dust settles there will remain two adversaries: Those who love the justice, mercy and humility of God and those whose god exults in the blood of those who do not agree with his followers.
One side is willing to sacrifice their lives to get what they want. Those on the other side, the side of freedom and liberty, of human respect and decency, of peace and love, must be equally willing to give their lives if they are to survive.
Yes, it has now come to that: A Fight For Survival.
At the moment the "other side" is winning.
Our side needs heroes and heroines to take a stand.
Where are they?
Update: A Pakistani commentator confirms my perceptions when he writes:
" . . . the spectacular aspect of these demonstrations and their equally spectacular results (leading to Western leaders cringing and begging for forgiveness on Arab-Muslim TV channels) . . ."The entire column is worth reading, especially his conclusion:
Muslims have every right to protest against injustice to them. But let the injustice be real, not imagined. And as Muslims make their case and take their stand, they can and must be polite, rational. Being blindly reactionary will only confirm the negative stereotypes of Muslims they have been fighting against all these years.Amen to that.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 1:10 PM
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